Over 15 people, including priest, killed in ‘terrorist acts’ in Russia
- In Reports
- 12:14 PM, Jun 24, 2024
- Myind Staff
At least 15 police officers and a priest were killed by gunmen on Sunday in what appear to be coordinated attacks on multiple places of worship in Russia’s southernmost Dagestan province, local authorities reported.
The attacks were reported in churches, synagogues and a police traffic stop in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala - which are about 120 km apart, the Russian authorities said. Governor Sergei Melikov described the incidents as a "terrorist attack."
Among the people killed in the attack were seven law enforcement officers, a priest, and a church security guard, according to a report by AP citing Russian authorities. Officials reported that police personnel killed four gunmen in Makhachkala and two in Derbent.
The priest killed during an attack on a church in Derbent was identified by Dagestan Public Monitoring Commission Chairman Shamil Khadulaev as Father Nikolay. “They slit his throat. He was 66 years old and very ill,” Khadulaev said.
"This evening in Derbent and Makhachkala unknown (attackers) made attempts to destabilise the situation in society," Melikov wrote on Telegram.
"We know who is behind these terrorist attacks and what objective they are pursuing," he added later, without specifying but referring to the Russia-Ukraine war.
"We must understand that war comes to our homes too. We felt it, but today we face it," he said.
Melikov said the "active phase" of operations in Derbent and Makhachkala had ended and that "six bandits have been liquidated".
The authorities will try to find "all the members of these sleeper cells who prepared (the attacks) and who were prepared, including abroad", he added.
He also announced that June 24-26 have been declared days of mourning in Dagestan. During this period, flags will be lowered to half-staff and all entertainment events will be cancelled.
The investigative directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Republic of Dagestan announced that it had initiated a "terror investigation" into the attacks under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
“All the circumstances of the incident and the persons involved in the terrorist attacks are being established, and their actions will be given a legal assessment,” the investigative directorate said in a statement.
The head of the Dagestan Republic, Sergey Melikov, also released a statement on Telegram following the attacks, saying that “unknown persons made attempts to destabilize the social situation.”
He also asserted that the attackers' identities were being established and that an operational headquarters and a plan for a counter-operation 'interception' were being implemented. Melikov further called on people to remain calm saying, “Panic and fear are what they were counting on in ... They won't get this from Dagestanis.”
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, which come three months after ISIS affiliate ISIS-K claimed an assault at Crocus City Hall in Moscow, resulting in over 140 deaths in one of Russia’s deadliest terrorist atrocities in years.
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