Gunmen fire on targets in Russia's Dagestan region; six police killed
Category: News & Politics
Via: perrie-halpern • 3 months ago • 2 commentsBy: Reuters By Reuters and NBC News
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
MOSCOW — Gunmen opened fire at a synagogue, two Orthodox churches and a police post in two cities in Russia's North Caucasus region of Dagestan on Sunday, killing six policemen and injuring 12, according to the Russian state news service Tass, which cited the region's internal affairs minister.
The places of worship and the traffic police post that were targeted are in Derbent and Makhachkala, according to Tass. The first gunshots were reported around 7 p.m. Moscow time.
The ministry, quoted by Russian news agencies, said four gunmen had been shot dead. An Orthodox priestin Derbent and a church security guard in Makhachkala were also reported to have been killed, Shamil Khadulaev, chairman of the Public Monitoring Commission of Dagestan, told Tass.
The agencies reported that street fights were gripping Makhachkala, the chief administrative town in Dagestan, a mainly Muslim region on the Caspian Sea.
NBC News has not independently verified Russian state media's reporting.
An unofficial channel on the Telegram messaging app, Mash, said police were preparing to storm a building where gunmen were holed up in Derbent, about 75 miles farther south. Authorities are also looking for a white Volkswagen that suspects fled in, according to state media.
The synagogue and a church in Derbent are home to an ancient Jewish community and a UNESCO World Heritage site, respectively. The Internal Affairs Ministry was quoted as saying both the synagogue and the church were ablaze.
The head of Dagestan's regional government vowed stiff punishment for "whichever forces lies behind these disgusting actions".
In Israel, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said the synagogue in Derbent had burned to the ground and that shots were fired at a second synagogue in Makhachkala. The statement said no worshippers were believed to have been in the synagogue.
Russian authorities have pointed to militant Muslim elements in previous incidents in the region.
In October, after the war in Gaza broke out, rioters waving Palestinian flags broke down glass doors and rampaged through Makhachkala airport to look for Jewish passengers on a flight arriving from Tel Aviv.
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West and Ukraine of stirring up unrest inside Russia in connection with the incident.
Reuters
Reuters
NBC NewsJay Marques contributed.
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Ukrainians armed by the West lie behind these disgusting actions. s/
Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the West and Ukraine of stirring up unrest inside Russia in connection with the incident.
I never thought I'd see the day a Russian leader would accuse the US of spreading antisemitism and anti-Christian violence.