Moscow [Russia], Nine people were killed and 25 injured in coordinated attacks by gunmen in Dagestan, Russia's southernmost province. The Investigative Directorate of Russia's Investigative Committee for the Republic of Dagestan said it had launched a "terrorist investigation" into the attacks under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, CNN reported.
Attacks have been reported at churches, synagogues and at a police traffic stop in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala, which are about 120 kilometers (75 miles) away.
In a statement, the investigation directorate said: "All the circumstances of the incident and the people involved in the terrorist attacks are being established, and their actions will be legally evaluated."
According to local authorities, the dead included seven law enforcement officers, a priest and a church security guard. According to the Russian news agency TASS, four "militants" have also been killed.
"According to the information I have received, Father Nikolay was murdered in the Derbent church, his throat was cut. He was 66 years old and very sick," said the chairman of the Public Monitoring Commission of Dagestan, Shamil Khadulaev.
He also said a church security guard armed only with a gun was shot.
One of the murdered law enforcement officers was the head of the "Lights of Dagestan" police department, Mavludin Khidirnabiev, according to a telegram from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dagestan.
At a church in Makhachkala, 19 people barricaded themselves for safety during a shootout that ended with the death of at least one attacker, TASS reported, citing Dagestan's Interior Ministry.
Meanwhile, a synagogue in Derbent was set alight with photographs showing large flames and columns of smoke billowing heavily from a series of windows on at least one floor of the structure.
In what appear to be coordinated attacks that took place around the same time as those in Derbent, a synagogue and a police traffic checkpoint in Makhachkala were also attacked.
The head of the Republic of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, issued a statement on Telegram. In the statement, He states that "unknown persons tried to destabilize the social situation. Dagestan police officers stood in their way. According to preliminary information, there are victims among them."
Melikov stated that the identity of the attackers is being determined, an operations headquarters has been created and a counter-operation plan "Interception" is being carried out.
Sergei Melikov asked people to remain calm: "They were counting on panic and fear... The Dagestanis will not achieve this!"
The Israeli Foreign Ministry called it a "combined attack" against the two synagogues. In the statement, the ministry said synagogues in Makhachkala and Derbent were attacked, according to the report.
"The Derbent synagogue was set on fire and burned to the ground. The local guards were killed. The Makhachkala synagogue was shot at, there are no further details," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The statement reads: "As far as is known, there were no worshipers in the synagogues at the time of the attack, and there are no known victims from the Jewish community."
Attacks have been reported at churches, synagogues and at a police traffic stop in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala, which are about 120 kilometers (75 miles) away.
In a statement, the investigation directorate said: "All the circumstances of the incident and the people involved in the terrorist attacks are being established, and their actions will be legally evaluated."
According to local authorities, the dead included seven law enforcement officers, a priest and a church security guard. According to the Russian news agency TASS, four "militants" have also been killed.
"According to the information I have received, Father Nikolay was murdered in the Derbent church, his throat was cut. He was 66 years old and very sick," said the chairman of the Public Monitoring Commission of Dagestan, Shamil Khadulaev.
He also said a church security guard armed only with a gun was shot.
One of the murdered law enforcement officers was the head of the "Lights of Dagestan" police department, Mavludin Khidirnabiev, according to a telegram from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dagestan.
At a church in Makhachkala, 19 people barricaded themselves for safety during a shootout that ended with the death of at least one attacker, TASS reported, citing Dagestan's Interior Ministry.
Meanwhile, a synagogue in Derbent was set alight with photographs showing large flames and columns of smoke billowing heavily from a series of windows on at least one floor of the structure.
In what appear to be coordinated attacks that took place around the same time as those in Derbent, a synagogue and a police traffic checkpoint in Makhachkala were also attacked.
The head of the Republic of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, issued a statement on Telegram. In the statement, He states that "unknown persons tried to destabilize the social situation. Dagestan police officers stood in their way. According to preliminary information, there are victims among them."
Melikov stated that the identity of the attackers is being determined, an operations headquarters has been created and a counter-operation plan "Interception" is being carried out.
Sergei Melikov asked people to remain calm: "They were counting on panic and fear... The Dagestanis will not achieve this!"
The Israeli Foreign Ministry called it a "combined attack" against the two synagogues. In the statement, the ministry said synagogues in Makhachkala and Derbent were attacked, according to the report.
"The Derbent synagogue was set on fire and burned to the ground. The local guards were killed. The Makhachkala synagogue was shot at, there are no further details," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The statement reads: "As far as is known, there were no worshipers in the synagogues at the time of the attack, and there are no known victims from the Jewish community."
