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, reports the BBC, 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.
The BBC 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.
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.
