Russia's Dagestan region mourning after terrorist attacks in churches and synagogues

By Stefan J. Bos  

Panicked-stricken people and police were seen in Russia's volatile Dagestan region.

The area plunged into mourning on Monday following attacks against houses of worship in the regional capital, Makhachkala and Derbent, with an ancient Jewish community.

The Investigative Committee, the country's top state criminal investigation agency, said all five attackers were killed after horrific battles.

Of the 19 other 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.

Local authorities said the attackers slit his throat before setting fire to the church. The attack came as the Orthodox faithful celebrated their Pentecost, also known as Trinity Sunday.

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

Extending attacks

Shortly after the attacks in Derbent, militants reportedly fired at a police checkpoint in nearby Makhachkala. They attacked a Russian Orthodox Church and a synagogue before being hunted down and killed by special forces.

Medical authorities in Dagestan said 16 people, including 13 police, were hospitalized with injuries, including four officers in grave condition.

The bloodshed was the latest that officials blamed on Islamic extremists in the predominantly Muslim area in the North Caucasus.

It was the deadliest attack in Russia since March, when gunmen started fire at a concert in suburban Moscow, killing 145 people.

An affiliate of the Islamic State group in Afghanistan that claimed responsibility for March's raid quickly praised the attack in Dagestan. It said it was conducted by "brothers 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 "complex and coordinated."

Dagestan Governor Sergei Melikov blamed members of Islamic "sleeper cells" directed from abroad but didn't give any other details.

'Sowing fear'

He said the assailants aimed at "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 despite the claim of responsibility by an Islamic State affiliate. Kyiv has vehemently denied any involvement.

The attacks came as Russia is also reeling from the worst antisemitic incidents in recent memory.

Dagestan made headlines in 2023 after a crowd stormed the local airport in what was seen as an attempted pogrom against Jewish travellers landing from Israel.

Separately, Russia said in April that it had successfully thwarted an attack on a Moscow synagogue.

Critics said the threats and violence, reminiscent of tsarist-era persecution of Jews, indicated the dangers for Russia of stoking antisemitic sentiment amid its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and repercussions from the Israel-Hamas war.