Unknown assailants have launched a series of attacks on synagogues and Orthodox churches, as well as a traffic police station, in the southern Russian region of Dagestan. The incidents took place in the regional capital, Makhachkala, and the southern city of Derbent.
At least 15 police officers have lost their lives in shootouts with the attackers and a raid on the regional capital’s traffic police station.
The assailants also broke into an Orthodox church in Derbent and killed a local priest. The synagogue in the city, which also came under attack, was set on fire. Photos and videos of the burning building have surfaced on social media.
This live stream has ended. RECAP: Terrorist attacks in southern Russia: What we know so far
24 June 2024
Three days of mourning were declared in Dagestan following the spate of terrorist attacks on Sunday, the region’s administration wrote on their official Telegram channel. All entertainment events on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday will be canceled while flags will be flown at half-staff during the mourning period.
The active phase of the counterterrorism operation against militants in both Derbent and Makhachkala has now been completed, but the investigation will continue until all members of the “sleeper cells” are identified, the regional head Sergey Melikov has added.
A total of five militants were neutralized during the counter-terrorism operation in Makhachkala and Derbent, the Head of the Republic of Dagestan, Sergey Melikov said in a statement early on Monday morning.
At the same time, more than 15 police officers were killed fighting off the terrorists at the cost of their lives, the Dagestani leader said, expressing condolences to the fallen.
23 June 2024
At leave five police officers were killed in the line of duty amid the Sunday spree of violence in Dagestan, according to a security source cited by RIA Novosti.
Five militants have been “neutralized” by security forces in Dagestan, the National Antiterrorism Committee reports. The security body previously said that two gunmen were killed in the city of Derbent.
Perpetrators of the violence in Dagestan apparently want to incite sectarian hatred, Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church has said. It is paramount that this “diabolic” goal is not achieved, he said, as he extended condolences to everyone affected by the tragedy.
The fire at the synagogue that came under attack in Derbent has been fully doused, TASS reported, sharing images from the scene.
The Russian Jewish Congress, a national organization representing a large part of the Jewish community, has offered its account of how the attack on the synagogue in Derbent unfolded. It said a police squad was parked outside the synagogue for security, while several private guards were stationed inside.
“The officers and the guards faced the main strike of the assailants and were killed resisting them,” the statement said.
The terrorists proceeded to use firebombs to set the building on fire, the Congress added. A similar attack targeted a synagogue in Makhachkala, it claimed, offering no further details.
The Jewish organization said that the same assailants targeted an Orthodox church and “savagely” killed its priest. It expressed condolences to everyone affected by the tragedy.
A total of 16 people, including 13 policemen, were rushed to the main regional hospital in Makhachkala throughout the day, Dagestani police have said.
The news agency TASS has released blurred images that it says are of the bodies of the two gunmen killed in Derbent.
The active phase of the operation in Derbent has finished, the National Antiterrorism Committee has reported. Two militants were killed in the city, the statement added.
A police source cited by Interfax has confirmed that two of the militants killed in Dagestan were identified as the sons of a local municipal head. A third one was his nephew, the source claimed.
The roads out of Makhachkala have been blocked by police, who are concerned that the militants may try to flee the regional capital.
Footage has emerged of an armored vehicle reportedly patrolling the streets of Makhachkala.
The police chief of the town of Dagestanskiye Ogni has died after being severely wounded after he and his deputies arrived in Derbent to back up fellow officers there, Interfax has reported, citing the regional Interior Ministry. Medics fought to save his life but the damage was too severe, the message said.
Multiple unconfirmed media reports claim that two sons of a local official in Dagestan were involved in the attack on the police station. The man has been taken into custody, sources in law enforcement told the press. The official reportedly has ten children.
Unknown assailants have opened fire at a police car in the Dagestani village of Sergokala, the regional Interior Ministry has said. One police officer has been reported injured.
A total of four militants have been “eliminated” by the security forces in Makhachkala, the regional interior ministry has said. The operation near the city’s Orthodox church has been completed and the people hiding inside have been taken to safety, it added. There were no hostages, the authorities have confirmed.
At least nine people have been killed in Dagestan, seven of whom are police officers, the authorities have said. At least 25 people are said to have been injured.
Dagestan’s interior ministry has denied reports about hostages being held in a church in Makhachkala. Almost 20 people had barricaded themselves inside seeking safety, the authorities said, but clarified that those people are already “out of danger.” “There have never been any hostages and there are none,” the police said.
The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a terrorism investigation into the attacks in Makhachkala and Derbent.
Military hardware, including armored personnel carriers, have been spotted on the streets of Derbent, according to photos and videos published on social media. Security services have blockaded the attackers in a building, according to the news agency Interfax. The area around the building has been cordoned off as officers prepare to storm it, the news agency said, citing security sources.
The suspects behind the attacks in Dagestan had “foreign” weapons in their arsenal, TASS has reported, citing security sources.
The perpetrators that launched the attacks in Derbent and Makhachkala are members of an “international terrorist organization,” Russian law enforcement authorities have said, without providing any further details on the suspects’ alleged allegiance.
One Russian National Guard serviceman has been killed in the clashes with the militants in Makhachkala, authorities have confirmed.
Firefighters have been called away from the Derbent synagogue due to concerns that attackers could still be inside, RIA Novosti reported, citing the head of the public council of the Russian Jewish Communities Federation. Gunfire can still be heard near the building, according to the news agency.
Intense fighting has broken out near the church in Makhachkala, RIA Novosti has reported, citing its correspondent at the scene. According to the Telegram channel Mash, some 40 people are being held hostage inside the church. The authorities have not commented on this information.
The head of Russia’s Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, condemned the attacks, calling them a “villainous provocation” aimed at sowing discord between religions.
A counter-terrorism operation has been launched in Dagestan in response to the attacks, the Russian National Antiterrorism Committee has said.
The head of the North Caucasus Muslim Coordination Council, Ismail Berdiev, has strongly condemned the attacks in Dagestan. He slammed the assailants as “brutal and hateful beasts.” Dagestan is a predominantly Muslim region.
Sounds of gunfire can still be heard in central Derbent, according to witnesses. Local law enforcement officers are reportedly still engaged in a fight against the attackers near the Orthodox church.
The moment of the attack on the police officers in Derbent appears to have been caught on video. Loud gunfire can be heard in the clip, which was published on social media. Footage shows several police cars parked down the street, where law enforcement officers can be seen returning the assailants’ fire. The witness believed to have shot the video refers to the attackers as “militants.”
The regional interior ministry has confirmed the death of a 66-year-old Orthodox priest in the attack on the church in Derbent. Earlier, a local public official claimed that the attackers had slit his throat.
A video has surfaced on social media showing police officers detaining several suspects at a beach in Makhachakala. Footage shows people running away from the beach, where the police officers could be seen restraining at least two men lying on the ground.
Two of the perpetrators that launched the attack in Makhachkala have been “eliminated,” the regional interior ministry has confirmed. A graphic video published by a Telegram channel linked to the regional interior ministry showed two bearded black-clad men lying on the ground, presumably lifeless.