Deadly Attacks on Churches and Police in Dagestan

Armed militants attacked Orthodox churches, a synagogue, and a police post in Dagestan, Russia, resulting in the deaths of a priest, a security guard, and multiple police officers. The attackers fled, sparking a manhunt. Speculation about the involvement of Ukrainian and NATO intelligence services surfaced but remained unconfirmed.

Armed militants launched a series of coordinated attacks on Orthodox churches, a synagogue, and a traffic police post in Dagestan, Russia, according to Russian state news agency Tass on Sunday. The brutal assaults led to the deaths of a Russian Orthodox priest, a church security guard, and at least six police officers.

Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee confirmed the fatalities, describing the incidents as 'terrorist' acts. Dagestan's Ministry of Internal Affairs revealed that gunmen opened fire at a synagogue and a church in Derbent, a city on the Caspian Sea, before fleeing the scene. Tass added that the religious sites were set ablaze in the attacks.

Simultaneously, an attack on a traffic police post in Makhachkala, Dagestan's capital, was reported. RIA Novosti stated that six policemen were killed and 12 others were injured. Shamil Khadulaev, deputy chairman of the public monitoring commission of Dagestan, announced that the attacks claimed the lives of a priest in Derbent and a church security guard in Makhachkala.

The Muftiate of Dagestan, a state-supported spiritual body, reported nine deaths, including seven policemen, and 25 injuries. Dagestan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs mentioned that four militants were 'eliminated' in Makhachkala, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility for these attacks.

Some officials in Dagestan attributed the assaults to Ukrainian and NATO intelligence services. 'There is no doubt that these terrorist attacks are in one way or another connected with the intelligence services of Ukraine and NATO countries,' Dagestan lawmaker Abdulkhakim Gadzhiyev commented on Telegram.

Ukrainian officials did not immediately respond. Meanwhile, President Ramzan Kadyrov of neighboring Chechnya labeled the incidents as a 'vile provocation' aimed at inciting religious discord.