CNN
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Gunmen armed with automatic rifles attacked a synagogue and a church in the city of Derbent in Russia’s southernmost Dagestan region on Sunday evening, killing a priest and a police officer.
A traffic sign was shot at and at least one police officer was injured in what appeared to be a coordinated attack near Makhachkala, Dagestan.
One priest was killed in the attack on the church, according to Shamil Khadulaev, head of Dagestan’s Public Monitoring Committee.
“According to the information I received, Father Nikolai was killed by having his throat slit in a church in Derbent. He was 66 years old and seriously ill,” Khadulaev said.
He also said a church security guard armed only with a handgun was shot, while other priests had barricaded themselves inside the church and were waiting for help, Kaduraev said.
Meanwhile, the synagogue is currently on fire, with large flames and heavy smoke coming from a series of windows on at least the first floor of the building.
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A preliminary report from Dagestan’s Interior Ministry duty officer said at least one police officer was killed and another wounded in the attacks on the church and synagogue, but authorities said they were still working to provide details on the casualties.
The status of the attackers is still unknown.
In what appears to be a coordinated attack that took place around the same time as the attacks on the church and synagogue, a police traffic control center in Makhachkala, Dagestan, was also hit.
At least one police officer was injured in the attack in Makhachkala, the Interior Ministry said.
Dagestan Prime Minister Sergey Melikov later sent a Telegram message saying, “Unidentified individuals tried to destabilize the social situation. Dagestani police officers prevented them. According to preliminary information, there are victims among them.”
Melikov said the attackers had been identified, an operational headquarters had been set up and planning for an “intercept” operation was underway.
He urged people to remain calm, saying: “What the people are expecting is panic and fear… This will not happen from Dagestanis!”
The Investigative Department of the Republic of Dagestan, Russia’s Investigative Committee, said it had opened a terrorism investigation into the attack under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
“The full circumstances of the incident and those involved in the terrorist attack will be revealed and their actions will be legally assessed,” the bureau’s statement said.
This is an ongoing story, more to come.
