Moscow: More than 20 people, predominantly police officers, lost their lives in a brazen series of attacks carried out by armed militants across Russia’s southern republic of Dagestan on Sunday.
The violence unfolded late Sunday evening when gunmen armed with automatic weapons stormed an Orthodox church and a synagogue in the historic city of Derbent. Tragically, 66-year-old Orthodox priest Nikolai Kotelnikov was killed in the attack, during which the assailants also set fire to an icon within the church. Simultaneously, in Makhachkala, situated approximately 125 kilometres (about 75 miles) north along the Caspian Sea, attackers targeted a traffic police post and launched an assault on another church.
In Makhachkala, gun battles erupted near the Assumption Cathedral, with heavy automatic gunfire echoing through the night. Disturbing footage captured residents fleeing for cover as plumes of smoke billowed above the city skyline.
The Investigative Committee of Russia confirmed that 15 policemen and four civilians lost their lives in the coordinated attacks. Additionally, 46 people sustained injuries, according to Dagestan’s healthcare ministry.
As the region grappled with the aftermath, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were declared days of mourning in Dagestan. Authorities swiftly launched a counter-terrorist operation to address the crisis, resulting in the elimination of five gunmen, as reported by the Anti-Terrorist Committee. However, Governor Sergei Melikov indicated that six “bandits” had been “liquidated,” highlighting discrepancies in the numbers and the scale of the militant involvement.
The assault marked the deadliest violence in Russia since March, when gunmen attacked a concert in suburban Moscow, claiming 145 lives.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attacks. However, speculation pointed towards Islamic extremists, a recurring source of instability in Dagestan and the broader North Caucasus region. The Institute for the Study of War in Washington suggested that the Islamic State group’s North Caucasus branch, Vilayat Kavkaz, could be behind the meticulously coordinated assault.
Dagestan Governor Sergei Melikov attributed the violence to Islamic “sleeper cells” operating under foreign direction, although he did not provide specific details to support this claim. He underscored that the attackers’ objective was to instil fear and chaos, and he hinted at a potential link to Russia’s military actions in Ukraine, although no evidence was presented to substantiate this assertion.
President Vladimir Putin received updates on the attacks and ongoing efforts to assist victims, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
The assailants also targeted the Kele-Numaz synagogue in Derbent, adding religious tensions to the already grim toll of the assault. The attackers’ brazenness and the scale of their violence underscored ongoing challenges in the region, which had seen a decline in extremist incidents in recent years following heightened security measures.
In response to the violence, Russian authorities swiftly detained Magomed Omarov, whose two sons and a nephew were reportedly among the attackers. Omarov, head of the United Russia’s regional branch in Dagestan, faced interrogation and subsequent dismissal from his political role.
The region’s history of violence traces back to the early 2000s, marked by frequent attacks on law enforcement and government officials attributed to militant extremists. Despite efforts to quell extremist sentiments, including recruitment to foreign conflicts, sporadic outbreaks of violence underscore ongoing security challenges. The Kremlin’s narrative of harmonious coexistence among ethnic and religious groups in Russia faced scrutiny following the assault, particularly after a mob riot at an airport in October targeted a flight from Israel, injuring over 20 people.