At least 15 officers, as well as several civilians and a priest, were killed yesterday by a horde of gunmen as they attacked religious sites in southern Russia in a shocking terrorist attack.
Horrific footage showed militants stalking the streets brandishing automatic rifles before unleashing a torrent of bullets at onlookers and police officers.
The attacks unfolded in several locations in the dusty region of Dagestan, a largely Muslim region of Russia that borders Georgia and Azerbaijan.
A synagogue in the regional capital, Makhachkala, was set on fire and smoke was seen rising from the building, while another group of attackers set fire to a second synagogue in Derbent, Russia’s southernmost city, which is approximately 80 miles further away. to the south.
There, gunmen also attacked an Orthodox church where they reportedly slit the throat of a priest locally identified as Father Nikolai Kotelnikov, 66, who served more than 40 years in Derbent.
Dagestan’s regional governor said this morning that six “bandits” had been “eliminated”, as clips showed members of the Russian FSB security service standing over bloodied corpses at the scene of the shooting.
No one immediately claimed responsibility, but there is evidence to suggest the shooting was an Islamist attack.
Russian state news agency Tass revealed that Magomed Omarov, head of Dagestan’s Sergokalinsky district, was arrested after officers learned that two of his sons had taken part in the shootings..
One of them reportedly shared a video on the messaging app Telegram in which he could be heard saying that he was “killing infidels” while declaring “Allahu Akhbar.”
The attackers fired on religious sites, as well as a police station, in the dusty region of Dagestan, bordering Chechnya.
Two synagogues and an Orthodox church in southern Russia were attacked by armed militants
The attackers are said to have cut the throat of Father Nikolai Kotelnikov, who served more than 40 years in Derbent.
Civilians flee the scene of the shooting
At the moment it is not known how many people were involved in the shootings, nor who is behind them.
At least 15 officers died in the attacks
A police pistol is seen lying on a blood-stained sidewalk in Dagestan after the attacks.
A member of the Russian national security service FSB is seen standing next to a bloody body. It is not clear whether the body is that of a terrorist or a victim.
Armed security is seen at the scene of the shooting.
Magomed Omarov, 64, secretary of Putin’s United Russia party in Dagestan and district head, was arrested after two of his sons reportedly took part in the attacks.
Shocking clips circulating on the Telegram messaging app show how hundreds of civilians desperately fled the scene of the shooting in Derbent, where attacks yesterday left the city center without power.
The synagogue attacked and burned by gunmen in the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the centerpiece of an ancient Jewish community.
The chairman of the public council of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, Boruch Gorin, wrote last night that “it has not been possible to put out the fire” at the synagogue.
He added: “The Makhachkala synagogue was also set on fire and burned.”
Gorin wrote that in Derbent, firefighters had been told to leave the burning synagogue because of the risk of “terrorists remaining inside.”
In a video statement this morning, Dagestan Regional Governor Sergei Melikov stated that the situation in the region is now under the control of law enforcement and local authorities.
He promised that the investigation will continue until “all the dormant cells” of the militants are discovered.
He claimed, without providing evidence, that the attacks could have been prepared from abroad and referenced what the Kremlin calls “the special military operation” in Ukraine in an apparent attempt to link the attacks.
But
That update followed a message he shared last night in which he stated: ‘Tonight in Derbent and Makhachkala, unknown individuals attempted to destabilize the public situation.
‘The Dagestan police officers stood in their way. According to preliminary information, there are victims among them.’
Meanwhile, authorities are investigating Dagestani official Omarov, whose sons Osman, 30, and Adil, 37, were among the gunmen who massacred innocent civilians and attacked places of worship.
He has also been expelled from Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party while investigations continue.
Before being shot dead, Osman posted a chilling video showing the Makhachkala synagogue in flames, declaring: ‘Behold, inshallah… Here is your synagogue burning.
‘Inshallah, Allah be praised, may these infidels… be humiliated. We will kill them like this, we will humiliate them and the word of Allah will be exalted.
‘Inshallah, Allahu Akbar!’
One of the shooters, said to be the son of a Dagestani politician, posted a chilling video showing the Makhachkala synagogue in flames and declaring: “Behold, inshallah… Here is your synagogue burning.”
Members of the Russian internal security service FSB in the middle of the anti-terrorist operation in Dagestan last night
Archpriest Nikolai Kotelnikov, 66, died during an attack in Derbent, Dagestan.
The attacks on religious sites in Dagestan come just months after a deadly terrorist attack in Moscow.
Russian Investigative Committee investigates shootings as ‘acts of terrorism’
High-profile figures in Russia took to social media to express their condolences and condemn the violence in the hours after yesterday’s attacks.
MMA fighter and former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, one of the most famous Dagestanis in the world, wrote: “My deepest condolences to all the family and friends of the victims.
‘May Allah save us all from such situations and grant us a peaceful sky above our heads.
‘Take care of yourself and your loved ones, and let everyone watch who they and their children interact with.
‘Educating souls is more important than educating bodies.’
Dagestan has witnessed a series of anti-Semitic events last year, notably when a mob stormed Makhachkala airport seeking Jewish passengers from Israel in the weeks following the October 7 Hamas attacks on the festival of Nova music in Re’im. and several kibbutzim across the border with Gaza.
The attacks on Dagestan’s religious sites come just months after a deadly terrorist attack in Moscow claimed the lives of nearly 145 people.
The Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), a particularly brutal sect of ISIS, massacred innocent concertgoers who came to see the Russian band Picnic at the Crocus City Hall concert venue in March of this year.
After shooting and setting fire to the place, 145 people died and 551 were injured by gunshots or burns.
At the time, Russian officials also attempted to link Ukraine to the attack without providing any evidence. Kyiv has vehemently denied any involvement.