Gunmen opened fire on two synagogues, two Orthodox churches and a police checkpoint. North Caucasus region of Russia In Dagestan on Sunday.
The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened an investigative committee Terrorism investigation According to the agency’s Telegram page, “in response to armed attacks in Derbent and Makhachkala, which resulted in the killing and injury of police officers and civilians.”
Shamil Khadulaev, chairman of Dagestan’s Public Monitoring Commission, said a 66-year-old pastor was killed by slitting his throat, according to the state-sponsored TASS news agency.
At least two police officers were also killed, according to Reuters, news agencies citing the Russian Interior Ministry reported. At least six people were injured.
Attackers set fire to Jewish places of worship and churches in Russia’s Dagestan province. (East2West)
Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement confirming “joint attacks on two cities in the Dagestan province, Makhachkala and Derbent.”
“The synagogue in Derbent was set on fire and burned to ashes. Local guards were killed. The synagogue in Makhachkala was fired upon; there is no further information on this,” the statement said. “At the same time, churches were attacked in Makhachkala and a pastor was killed in Derbent.”
“As far as is known, there were no worshippers in the synagogue at the time of the attack and there are no reports of casualties among the Jewish community,” it added. “The Israeli embassy in Moscow is in contact with Jewish community leaders in the district.”
Videos circulating online showed buildings on fire and gunmen exchanging gunfire with police.
Citing unspecified reports, Reuters said an officer was killed in a shootout at a synagogue in Derbent, which is home to a Jewish clergyman. Ancient Jewish community in the North Caucasus.
Gunfire also reportedly broke out at an Orthodox church in the city, which is a UNESCO heritage site. Another shooting was reported at a police checkpoint in Makhachkala, on the Caspian Sea coast and about 75 miles north of Dagestan’s main city. Predominantly Muslim area In southern Russia, according to Reuters.
Sergey Melnikov, Appointed by Vladimir Putin According to Russian news agency RIA, the head of Dagestan said that “unknown persons” in Derbent and Makhachkala attempted to “destabilize the social situation.”
These attacks were not immediately identified as being carried out by any specific group.
Gunmen reportedly exchanged gunfire with police in Russia’s Dagestan region. (East2West)
However, these statements come amid concerns about the rise of Islamist militants, particularly the ISIS-K group, in the region.
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FBI Director Christopher Wray warned of an increased terror threat earlier this month following the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and Hamas militants’ attack on southern Israel on October 7. He warned that there was a “potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, similar to the ISIS-K attack on a Russian concert hall in March.”
22 March, Crocus City of Moscow The concert hall was attacked by terrorists, killing more than 140 people and injuring more than 180. Russian media have identified the attackers as citizens of Tajikistan. After entering with automatic weapons, the terrorists opened fire indiscriminately throughout the 6,200-seat venue.
Smoke is seen rising after gunmen reportedly attacked Jewish places of worship and churches in the cities of Makhachkala and Derbent in the Russian Dagestan region. (East2West)
Pictures from the scene showed a massive fire at the concert venue.
News of Sunday’s attacks in Russia came on the same day that US Secretary of State Douglas Emhoff and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro were among the dignitaries who laid the cornerstone for a new structure at the site of Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue, where 11 Jewish worshippers were murdered on the morning of October 27, 2018, in the deadliest act of anti-Semitism in American history.
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Emhoff, the first Jewish spouse of a U.S. president or vice president, said Sunday that his goal was to send a message “to the Jewish community of Pittsburgh, to the nation and to the world that we must never forget what the poison of anti-Semitism can do.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
