Deadly Attack In Russia's Dagestan: Gunmen Kill 15 Police Officers And Multiple Civilians

Deadly Attack In Russia: More than 15 police officers and several civilians, including an Orthodox priest, were killed by armed militants in Russia's southern republic of Dagestan on Sunday, according to its governor, Sergei Melikov, in a video statement released early Monday.

The gunmen targeted two Orthodox churches, a synagogue, and a police post in two cities, as reported by authorities.

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Gunmen Kill 15 Police Officers And Multiple Civilians - Here's What We Know

The attacks in this predominantly Muslim region with a history of armed insurgency have been labelled as terrorist acts by Russia's National Anti-Terrorist Committee. Days of mourning have been declared in the region for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. The Interior Ministry of Dagestan has indicated that a synagogue and a church in the city of Derbent, located on the Caspian Sea, were shot at by a group of armed men, as reported by PTI.

State media reported that both the church and the synagogue were set on fire. Concurrently, attacks were reported on a church and a traffic police post in the capital city, Makhachkala. The authorities have announced a counter-terrorist operation. The Anti-Terrorist Committee has confirmed the elimination of five gunmen, while the governor mentioned that six "bandits" have been "liquidated," although the exact number of militants involved remains unclear.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks. A criminal investigation has been launched on charges of a terrorist act. According to the Russian state news agency Tass, a Dagestani official has been detained due to the involvement of his sons in the attacks.

In his video statement, Melikov assured that the situation in the region is under the control of law enforcement and local authorities, and promised that the investigation will continue until all militant sleeper cells are uncovered, as reported by PTI. He suggested, without providing evidence, that the attacks might have been orchestrated from abroad, and referenced the Kremlin's "special military operation" in Ukraine in an apparent attempt to link the attacks to it.

In a related incident in March, gunmen opened fire on a crowd at a concert hall in suburban Moscow, resulting in 145 fatalities, as per media reports. An affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for this attack, but Russian officials also attempted to link Ukraine to the incident without presenting any evidence, which Kyiv has strongly denied.