麻豆影视

Skip to main content

Russian region of Dagestan holds a day of mourning after attacks kill 20 people, officials say

This photo taken from video released by Golos Dagestana shows smoke rises following an attack in Makhachkala, republic of Dagestan, Russia, Sunday, June 23, 2024. (Golos Dagestana via AP) This photo taken from video released by Golos Dagestana shows smoke rises following an attack in Makhachkala, republic of Dagestan, Russia, Sunday, June 23, 2024. (Golos Dagestana via AP)
Share
MOSCOW -

Russia鈥檚 southern region of Dagestan held the first of three days of mourning Monday following an attack by Islamic militants who authorities say killed 20 people, mostly police, and attacked Christian and Jewish houses of worship in assaults in two cities.

Sunday's violence in Dagestan's regional capital of Makhachkala and nearby Derbent was the latest that officials blamed on Islamic extremists in the predominantly Muslim region in the North Caucasus. It was also the deadliest in Russia since March, when gunmen opened fire at a concert in suburban Moscow, killing 145 people.

An affiliate of the Islamic State group in Afghanistan had claimed responsibility for March's raid and quickly praised the attack in Dagestan, saying it was conducted by 鈥渂rothers in the Caucasus who showed that they are still strong."

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War argued that the Islamic State group's North Caucasus branch, Vilayat Kavkaz, likely was behind the attack, describing it as 鈥渃omplex and coordinated.鈥

Dagestan Gov. Sergei Melikov blamed members of Islamic 鈥渟leeper cells鈥 directed from abroad, but didn't give any other details. He said in a video statement that the assailants aimed at 鈥渟owing panic and fear,鈥 and attempted to link the attack to Moscow鈥檚 military action in Ukraine 鈥 but also provided no evidence.

President Vladimir Putin had sought to blame the March attack on Ukraine, again without evidence and despite the claim of responsibility by the Islamic State affiliate. Kyiv has vehemently denied any involvement.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin has received reports on Sunday's attacks and efforts to help the victims.

The Investigative Committee, the country鈥檚 top state criminal investigation agency, said all five attackers were killed. Of the 20 people killed, at least 15 were police.

Medical authorities in Dagestan said at least 46 people were injured. Of those, at least 13 were police, with four officers hospitalized in grave condition.

Among the dead was the Rev. Nikolai Kotelnikov, a 66-year-old Russian Orthodox priest at a church in Derbent. The attackers slit his throat before setting fire to the church, according to Shamil Khadulayev, deputy head of a local public oversight body. The attack came as the Orthodox faithful celebrated Pentecost, also known as Trinity Sunday.

Melikov, the Dagestan governor, said Sunday that also among the dead were a Russian Orthodox believer and 18 Muslims.

The Kele-Numaz synagogue in Derbent also was set ablaze.

Shortly after the attacks in Derbent, militants fired at a police post in Makhachkala and attacked a Russian Orthodox Church and a synagogue there before being killed by special forces.

Russian news reports said the attackers included the two sons and a nephew of Magomed Omarov, the head of the Dagestan regional branch of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party. Omarov was detained by police for interrogation, and United Russia quickly dismissed him from its ranks. Melikov later said Omarov had been removed from his post, Russian state news agencies reported.

In the early 2000s, Dagestan saw near-daily attacks on police and other authorities that was blamed on militant extremists. After the emergence of the Islamic State group, many residents of the region joined it in Syria and Iraq.

The violence in Dagestan has abated in recent years, but in a sign that extremist sentiments still run high in the region, mobs rioted at an airport there in October, targeting a flight from Israel. More than 20 people were hurt 鈥 none of them Israelis 鈥 when hundreds of men, some carrying banners with antisemitic slogans, rushed onto the tarmac, chased passengers and threw stones at police.

The airport rampage challenged the Kremlin's narrative that ethnic and religious groups coexist in harmony in Russia.

After March's Moscow concert hall attack, Russia鈥檚 top security agency reported that it had broken up what it called a 鈥渢errorist cell鈥 in southern Russia and arrested four of its members who had provided weapons and cash to suspected attackers in Moscow.

Harold Chambers, political and security analyst specializing in the North Caucasus, noted the authorities' response to Sunday's attack 鈥渨as significantly more than we have seen in the past, but still lacking, particularly with response time.鈥

鈥淭hey were definitely caught off guard by this attack,鈥 he said. "What we鈥檙e seeing here is still this disconnect between Russian counterterrorism capability and what the terrorists capability is inside of Russia.鈥 

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.

A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.

Unusual flippered feet are making their way into the Saint Lawrence River this weekend. Led by underwater explorer and filmmaker Nathalie Lasselin, volunteer divers are combing the riverbed near Beauharnois in Mont茅r茅gie to remove hundreds of tires that have been polluting the aquatic environment for decades.

A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.

Local Spotlight

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.