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More than fifteen (15) police officers, including an orthodox church priest, as well as other civilians have been reportedly killed by armed militants in Russia’s southern republic of Dagestan on Sunday.
The governor, Sergei Melikov, revealed this in a video statement on Monday.
The gunmen were said to have opened fire on two orthodox churches, a synagogue and a police post in two cities, according to the authorities.
Russia’s National Anti-Terrorist Committee described the attacks in the predominantly Muslims region with a history of armed insurgency as terrorist acts.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday have been declared days of mourning in the region.
Dagestan’s Interior Ministry said a group of armed men shot at a synagogue and a church in the city of Derbent, located on the Caspian Sea. Both the church and the synagogue caught fire, according to state media.
Authorities announced a counter-terrorist operation in the region.
The Anti-Terrorist Committee said five gunmen were “eliminated.” The governor said six “bandits” had been “liquidated.”
The conflicting numbers couldn’t be immediately reconciled and it wasn’t clear how many militants were involved in the attacks.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks. The authorities launched a criminal investigation on the charge of a terrorist act.
Russian state news agency Tass cited law enforcement sources as saying that a Dagestani official was detained over his sons’ involvement in the attacks.
Melikov said in the video statement that the situation in the region was under control by the law enforcement and local authorities, and vowed that the investigation into the attacks would continue until “all the sleeping cells” of the militants were uncovered.
In March, gunmen opened fire on a crowd at a concert hall in suburban Moscow, killing 145 people.
