Two Orthodox churches and two synagogues were targeted in what appears to have been a coordinated terrorist attack in southern Russia timed for the Orthodox festival of Pentecost.
An Orthodox priest was among the 20 victims of the attacks on Sunday evening, the majority of whom are reported to have been police officers. Five gunmen are dead too, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crgggwg158do"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">reports</mark></a> the <em>BBC</em>, and at least 46 people were taken to hospital with injuries after the evening attacks on 23 June.
The attacks occurred in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala in Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim republic in southern Russia, and which neighbours Chechnya.<br><br>The <em>BBC</em> reports that the priest was later identified by the head of the Republic of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, as Father Nikolai Kotelnikov, who had served in Derbent for more than 40 years.<br><br>Russian media reported that around 6 p.m. local time on Sunday, gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons on an Orthodox church and a synagogue in Derbent, which is home to an ancient Jewish community.
At around the same time, in the city of Makhachkala, two gunmen ran into an Orthodox church, tried to set fire to its main icon and opened fire, the <em>Izvestia</em> newspaper said.
Heavy shooting also took place outside the church with gunmen dressed in black firing automatic weapons at police cars.
Dagestan has previously experienced Islamist attacks. The church and synagogue targeted in Derbent have both burnt down, <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/who-will-russia-blame-for-the-dagestan-shootings/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">reports</mark></a> the <em>Spectator</em>. It notes that “inter-ethnic and religious tensions have regularly flared over the last few decades” and that the Jewish community in Derbent has increasingly been the target "of anti-Semitic incidents in the republic”.
The Dagestan attacks come just over three months since 145 people were killed in a terrorist attack on Moscow's Crocus City Hall music venue in March.<br><br>As occurred in the immediate aftermath of the March attack, the Russian authorities have tried to link the latest attack to the war in Ukraine.
"With the blame game focussed on Ukraine, there has been little pressure on the Russian security forces to identify and neutralise Islamist terror threats originating from within the country," Lisa Haseldine writes in her <em>Spectator</em> article. "Now, the results of that strategy are beginning to become tragically clear."<br><br>While no terror group has yet to take responsibility for the Pentecost shootings in Dagestan, Haseldine notes that the ISIS branch responsible for the Crocus City Hall attack posted a statement on their social media praising their "brothers [in] the Caucasus" for demonstrating their capabilities. <br><br><em>Photo: The burnt-out synagogue in Derbent; screenshot from <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crgggwg158do"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">www.bbc.com</mark></a>. </em>
Two Orthodox churches and two synagogues were targeted in what appears to have been a coordinated terrorist attack in southern Russia timed for the Orthodox festival of Pentecost.
An Orthodox priest was among the 20 victims of the attacks on Sunday evening, the majority of whom are reported to have been police officers. Five gunmen are dead too, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crgggwg158do"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">reports</mark></a> the <em>BBC</em>, and at least 46 people were taken to hospital with injuries after the evening attacks on 23 June.
The attacks occurred in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala in Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim republic in southern Russia, and which neighbours Chechnya.<br><br>The <em>BBC</em> reports that the priest was later identified by the head of the Republic of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, as Father Nikolai Kotelnikov, who had served in Derbent for more than 40 years.<br><br>Russian media reported that around 6 p.m. local time on Sunday, gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons on an Orthodox church and a synagogue in Derbent, which is home to an ancient Jewish community.
At around the same time, in the city of Makhachkala, two gunmen ran into an Orthodox church, tried to set fire to its main icon and opened fire, the <em>Izvestia</em> newspaper said.
Heavy shooting also took place outside the church with gunmen dressed in black firing automatic weapons at police cars.
Dagestan has previously experienced Islamist attacks. The church and synagogue targeted in Derbent have both burnt down, <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/who-will-russia-blame-for-the-dagestan-shootings/"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">reports</mark></a> the <em>Spectator</em>. It notes that “inter-ethnic and religious tensions have regularly flared over the last few decades” and that the Jewish community in Derbent has increasingly been the target "of anti-Semitic incidents in the republic”.
The Dagestan attacks come just over three months since 145 people were killed in a terrorist attack on Moscow's Crocus City Hall music venue in March.<br><br>As occurred in the immediate aftermath of the March attack, the Russian authorities have tried to link the latest attack to the war in Ukraine.
"With the blame game focussed on Ukraine, there has been little pressure on the Russian security forces to identify and neutralise Islamist terror threats originating from within the country," Lisa Haseldine writes in her <em>Spectator</em> article. "Now, the results of that strategy are beginning to become tragically clear."<br><br>While no terror group has yet to take responsibility for the Pentecost shootings in Dagestan, Haseldine notes that the ISIS branch responsible for the Crocus City Hall attack posted a statement on their social media praising their "brothers [in] the Caucasus" for demonstrating their capabilities. <br><br><em>Photo: The burnt-out synagogue in Derbent; screenshot from <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crgggwg158do"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">www.bbc.com</mark></a>. </em>
