At least 15 officers along with several civilians and a priest were massacred by a horde of gunmen as they stormed religious sites in southern Russia in a shocking terrorist attack yesterday.
Horrific images showed the militants marching through the streets brandishing automatic rifles before unleashing a torrent of bullets on passers-by and police.
The attacks took place in several locations in the powder region of Dagestan, a largely Muslim Russian region bordering Georgia and Azerbaijan.
A synagogue in Makhachkala, the regional capital, was set on fire with smoke billowing from the building, while another group of attackers set fire to a second synagogue in Derbent, Russia’s southernmost city, located about 130 kilometers further south.
There, the gunmen also attacked an Orthodox church where they allegedly slit the throat of a priest named locally 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” after Russia’s Anti-Terrorism Committee earlier reported that five gunmen had been killed.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but there was evidence to suggest the shooting was an Islamist attack.
Russia’s official Tass news agency revealed that Magomed Omarov, head of Dagestan’s Sergokalinsky district, was arrested after police learned that two of his sons had participated in the shooting..
One of his sons reportedly shared a video on the messaging app Telegram in which he declared “Allahu Akhbar” and claimed he was “killing infidels.”
The attackers fired on religious sites as well as a police station in the powder keg region of Dagestan, which borders Chechnya.
Two synagogues and an Orthodox church in southern Russia attacked by armed militants
Father Nikolai Kotelnikov, who served more than 40 years in Derbent, was reportedly slaughtered by the attackers.
Civilians flee the scene of the shooting
It is currently unknown how many people were involved in the shooting, or who is behind them.
At least 15 police officers were killed in the attacks
Shocking clips circulating on messaging app Telegram showed how hundreds of civilians desperately fled the scene of the shooting in Derbent, where attacks knocked out power to the city center yesterday.
The synagogue attacked and burned by the gunmen in the town 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 was not possible to put out the fire” in the synagogue.
He added: “The synagogue in Makhachkala was also set on fire and set on fire.”
Gorin wrote that in Derbent, firefighters were asked to leave the burning synagogue because of the risk of “terrorists remaining inside.”
This morning, in a video statement, Dagestan regional governor Sergei Melikov said that the situation in the region is now under the control of law enforcement and local authorities.
He promised that the investigation would continue until “all the sleeping cells” of the militants were uncovered.
He claimed, without providing evidence, that the attacks may have been planned from abroad and referred to what the Kremlin calls the “special military operation” in Ukraine in an apparent attempt to link the attacks.
This update followed a message he shared last night in which he said: “Tonight, in Derbent and Makhachkala, unknown persons tried to destabilize the public situation.
“Police officers from Dagestan stood in their way. According to preliminary information, there are victims among them.
Meanwhile, authorities are currently 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 the investigation continues.
Before he was shot, Osman posted a chilling video showing the Makhachkala synagogue on fire, declaring: “Behold, inshallah… Here is their synagogue on fire.
“Inshallah, praise be to Allah, may these infidels… be humiliated. We will thus kill them and humiliate them, and the word of Allah will be exalted.
“Inshallah, Allahu Akbar!” »
The attacks on religious sites in Dagestan come just months after a deadly terrorist attack in Moscow.
The Russian Investigative Committee has already declared that it is investigating them for “acts of terrorism”.
Prominent Russian figures took to social media to express their condolences and condemn the violence.
Khabib Nurmagomedov, MMA fighter and former UFC lightweight champion, one of the most famous Dagestani personalities in the world, wrote: “My condolences to all relatives 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 take a look at the people they and their children interact with.
“It is more important to educate souls than to educate bodies.”
Dagestan has seen a series of anti-Semitic events over the past year, including when a mob stormed Makhachkala airport searching for Jewish passengers from Israel in the weeks following the Hamas attacks on October 7 against the Nova music festival in Re’im. and several kibbutzim across the border with Gaza.
The attacks on religious sites across Dagestan come just months after a deadly terrorist attack in Moscow claimed the lives of nearly 145 people.
Khorasan Province of the Islamic State (ISIS-K), a particularly brutal sect of ISIS, massacred innocent spectators who were going to see the Russian band Picnic at the Crocus City Hall concert hall in March of this year.
After shooting and setting the hall on fire, 145 people died while 551 people were shot or burned.
At that time, Russian officials also sought to link Ukraine to the attack, without providing any evidence. Kyiv has vehemently denied any involvement.
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