MOSCOW – More than 15 police officers and several civilians, including an Orthodox priest, have been killed by armed rebels in southern Russia. Republic of Dagestan on Sunday, governor Sergei Melikov said in a video statement early Monday.
According to authorities, gunmen opened fire on two Orthodox churches, a synagogue and a police station in two cities.
Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee described the attacks in the predominantly Muslim region with a history of armed militancy as acts of terrorism.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were declared days of mourning in the region.
Dagestan’s Interior Ministry said a group of armed men shot at a synagogue and a church in the city of Derbent, located on the Caspian Sea. According to state media, both the church and the synagogue caught fire. Almost simultaneously, reports emerged of an attack on a church and a traffic police station in Dagestan’s capital, Makhachkala.
The authorities announced an anti-terrorism operation in the region. The anti-terrorism committee said five gunmen had been “eliminated”. The governor said six “bandits” had been “liquidated”. The conflicting numbers could not immediately be resolved and it was unclear how many militants were involved in the attacks.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks. Authorities opened a criminal investigation into the terrorist attack.
Russian state news agency Tass cited law enforcement sources as saying a Dagestani official had been arrested for implicating his sons in the attacks.
