At least six police officers and an Orthodox priest were killed in a terrorist attack in Derbent, in the autonomous republic of Dagestan, southern RussiaWhere a group of armed men opened fire on a synagogue, a church and, immediately afterwards, a traffic police station between Derbent and Makhachkala. After the attack, the terrorists set fire to the two places of worship and the anti-terrorism teams launched a manhunt throughout the area to stop the attackers.
Russia, attack on a church and synagogue in Dagestan: 6 agents killed and several injured
According to local sources, at least two terrorists were killed during the escape. According to the first reconstruction provided by the Ministry of the Interior of Dagestan, around 6pm unknown persons fired automatic weapons at a synagogue and a church. The suspects – the investigators say – fled in a white Volkswagen Polo. Israel also immediately followed the whole affair with great concern: the Israeli embassy in Moscow – the Foreign Ministry of Tel Aviv announced – she immediately contacted the leaders of the Jewish community in the Derbent district.
According to Israeli sources, “as far as is known, there were no believers in the synagogue at the time of the attack.” Meanwhile, throughout the Caucasian Republic the local National Anti-Terrorism Committee has decided a exceptional mobilization of law enforcement agencies specialized in anti-terrorism actions: «In order to guarantee the safety of people, prevent terrorist crimes and block people involved in armed attacks – reads the Committee’s note – the head of the directorate of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) for Dagestan has decided to impose anti-terrorism operations”. A source close to the local police told Tass that the perpetrators of these attacks “are members of an international terrorist organisation”.
Already last October 28, this Muslim-majority Republic was the scene of an openly anti-Semitic act: at the airport of the capital, Makhatchakala, dozens of people stormed the runway and the terminal after the landing of a plane from Israel was announced, shouting ‘Allah u Akbar’, in what seemed to everyone to be a real manhunt, with sinister echoes of a pogrom. At the time, Moscow accused the Kiev government of having “a key role” in that action. Moscow Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Ukraine’s goal was to “destabilize Russia” by provoking ethno-religious divisions. “Absurd accusations,” was Washington’s response.
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