Gunmen Kill At Least 19 People In an Attack on a Church and a Synagogue in Russia’s Dagestan

Gunmen carried out simultaneous attacks in Dagestan’s largest city, Makhachkala, and in the city of Derbent, killing at least 15 police officers and four civilians including a priest.

The attacks happened on Sunday, on the Orthodox festival of Pentecost. Two churches and a synagogue were targeted, as well as a police post. An Orthodox Church priest was among those killed.

The Head of the Republic of Dagestan, Sergey Melikov, indicated that the organizers behind the attacks were identified.

According to the Russian Anti-Terrorist Committee, five attackers were eliminated — two in Derbent and three in Makhachkala. The case is being investigated as a terrorist attack.

Three of the killed militants were identified as the sons and nephew of Sergokalinsky District Head Magomed Omarov. The page of Magomed Omarov has disappeared from the Russian Political Party “United Russia” (“Единая Россия”) website. Omarov himself was detained.

Russian state-sponsored media TASS published an ungrounded claim that the attackers may have ties to “international terrorist organizations”, with some Russian politicians claiming the involvement of “agents of NATO and Ukraine” in the attack without presenting evidence.

The terrorist group “Islamic State in Khorasan Province” (ISKP) issued a statement in connection with the terrorist attacks in Dagestan on June 23. The statement said, “Our brothers from the Caucasus made it known that they are still strong, they showed what they are capable of.”

According to the Institute for the Study of War, it was likely the Islamic State Northern Caucasus branch that conducted a complex and coordinated attack against churches, synagogues, and law enforcement structures in the Republic of Dagestan on June 23.