MOSCOW — Greater than 15 policemen and a number of other civilians, together with an Orthodox priest, had been killed by armed militants in Russia’s southern republic of Dagestan on Sunday, its governor Sergei Melikov mentioned in a video assertion early Monday.
The gunmen opened hearth on two Orthodox church buildings, a synagogue and a police submit in two cities, in response to the authorities.
Russia’s Nationwide Anti-Terrorist Committee described the assaults within the predominantly Muslim area with a historical past of armed militancy as terrorist acts.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday had been declared days of mourning within the area.
Dagestan’s Inside Ministry mentioned a bunch of armed males shot at a synagogue and a church within the metropolis of Derbent, positioned on the Caspian Sea. Each the church and the synagogue caught hearth, in response to state media. Virtually concurrently, reviews appeared about an assault on a church and a visitors police submit within the Dagestan capital, Makhachkala.
The authorities introduced a counter-terrorist operation within the area. The Anti-Terrorist Committee mentioned 5 gunmen had been “eradicated.” The governor mentioned six “bandits” had been “liquidated.” The conflicting numbers could not be instantly reconciled and it wasn’t clear what number of militants had been concerned within the assaults.
There was no fast declare of duty for the assaults. The authorities launched a felony probe on the cost of a terrorist act.
Russian state information company Tass cited legislation enforcement sources as saying {that a} Dagestani official was detained over his sons’ involvement within the assaults.