Russia’s southern region of Dagestan yesterday held the first of three days of mourning following a rampage by Islamic militants who killed 19 people, most of them police, and attacked houses of worship in apparently coordinated 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, as well as the deadliest in Russia since March, when gunmen opened fire at a concert in suburban Moscow, killing 145 people.
The affiliate of the Islamic State group in Afghanistan that claimed responsibility for March’s raid quickly praised the attack in Dagestan, saying that it was conducted by “brothers in the Caucasus who showed that they are still strong.”
Photo: EPA-EFE / Telegram Channel of the Head of Dagestan Republic
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said that the Islamic State group’s North Caucasus branch, Vilayat Kavkaz, was likely behind the attack, describing it as “complex and coordinated.”
Dagestan Governor Sergei Melikov blamed members of Islamic “sleeper cells” directed from abroad, but did not give any other details.
He said in a video statement that the assailants were focused on “sowing panic and fear,” and attempted to link the attack to Moscow’s military action in Ukraine — but also provided no evidence.
Russian 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 nation’s top state criminal investigation agency, said all five attackers were killed. Of the 19 people killed, 15 were police.
Among the dead was the Reverend 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, said Shamil Khadulayev, deputy head of a local public oversight body.
The attack came as the Orthodox faithful celebrated Pentecost, also known as Trinity Sunday.
The Kele-Numaz synagogue in Derbent was also 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 hunted down and killed by special forces.
Medical authorities in Dagestan said 16 people, including 13 police, were hospitalized with injuries, and that four officers were in grave condition.
Russian news reports said the attackers included the two sons and a nephew of Magomed Omarov, the head of the ruling party’s United Russia’s regional branch in Dagestan.
Omarov was detained by police for interrogation, and United Russia quickly dismissed him from its ranks.
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