Russia Horror: Gunmen Kill Priest, 15 Police at Religious Gathering
Russia Horror: Gunmen Kill Priest, 15 Police at Religious Gathering
Gunmen kill a priest and fifteen police officers during attacks on religious groups in Russia.
Synagogue attacked, guards killed in Derbent, and Makhachkala synagogue targeted with gunfire amid rising tensions in Dagestan. Local authorities blame Ukraine and NATO, while others caution against unfounded claims. Investigation underway into possible acts of terrorism.
On Sunday, June 23, gunmen attacked houses of worship in two cities in the southern province of Dagestan, Russia. In what appeared to be a concerted operation, the attack claimed the lives of at least 15 police officers, an Orthodox priest, and an unknown number of civilians.
The attacks on churches, synagogues, and police stations along the roughly 120-kilometer (75-mile) distance between Derbent and Makhachkala resulted in the deaths of at least six militants, according to the head of the Dagestan Republic, Sergey Melikov.
The assaults took place in the republic of Dagestan, which is situated in the North Caucasus, a mostly Muslim territory bordering the Caspian Sea that has a history of violent separatist movements.
Russia's war in Ukraine, where ethnic minorities have been disproportionately enlisted to fight, has increased the unrest in the region.
Large flames and thick smoke plumes could be seen rising from a Derbent synagogue in pictures and videos, and footage taken through a building window in Makhachkala showed people in black clothing shooting at a passing police car.
The attacks have not been attributed to any particular group. Three months had passed since ISIS-K, an affiliate of the group, claimed responsibility for an attack on Moscow's Crocus City Hall that left over 140 people dead, making it one of the worst ever.
Melikov, “described the possible involvement of sleeper cells and suggested the attacks may have had foreign help.
“Operative-search and investigative measures will be carried out until all participants of the sleeper cells are identified, which, undoubtedly, include some that were organized from abroad,” he added.
The attacks have not been attributed to any particular group. These occurrences took place three months after Moscow's Crocus City Hall was attacked by ISIS-K, an affiliate of ISIS that claimed responsibility for over 140 fatalities, making it one of the bloodiest terrorist attacks in Russian history.
“The gunmen in Dagestan were adherents of an international terrorist organization,” Russian law enforcement services stated on Sunday, June 23.
Uncertainty surrounds the precise number of victims. All posts pertaining to the Muftiyat of the Republic of Dagestan, a centralized Islamic body that had previously provided updates on the casualties, have subsequently been removed.
Following the tragic events, Dagestan has announced three days of mourning and lowered state flags to half-staff.
Financial support will also be given to the victims' relatives, according to Melikov.
There is a little Jewish population in Dagestan as well as a small Christian minority, and both groups seemed to be the focus of attacks on Sunday, June 23.
Shamil Khadulaev, the Chairman of the Dagestan Public Monitoring Commission, named Father Nikolay as the priest who was killed during an attack in a Derbent church.
At least a dozen armed law enforcement personnel were visible outside the gates of a church in northwest Makhachkala in a nighttime video released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Dagestan. The officers were dressed in tactical gear.
It was learned earlier on Sunday, June 23, that 19 people had locked themselves inside the cathedral during the attack, and that a security guard had been killed in a gunfight at the site.
As per the Dagestan Ministry of Internal Affairs, everyone who had sought shelter there have been removed to a safe place.
According to a statement from the Russian Jewish Congress (RJC), two synagogues in Dagestan—one in Derbent and the other in Makhachkala—were also attacked in the meantime.
The RJC reported that gunmen invaded the Derbent synagogue forty minutes after evening prayer, “setting the building on fire using Molotov cocktails, while police and security guards were killed outside.”
Images of the building showed smoke and flames shooting out of several windows on at least one storey.
According to Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Israel, the small Jewish population of Dagestan is a part of the Mountain Jews, who historically have resided for millennia in sections of Azerbaijan and what is now Russia's Caucasus area.
According to the Israeli Foreign Ministry, local guards had been killed and the synagogue in Derbent had burned to the ground.
Moreover, there had been gunshots at the Makhachkala synagogue.
Since an antisemitic crowd stormed the local airport in October, attempting to stop a passenger jet arriving from Tel Aviv, security officers had been posted outside synagogues in the area.
Videos from the skirmishes show a mob on the runway and inside Makhachkala Uytash Airport, with at least ten persons reported hurt.
While some people shoved their way through the international terminal's closed doors, others waved Palestinian flags.
The attack on the airport happened as regional public unhappiness at Israel's bombardment and siege of Gaza in retaliation for Hamas' deadly attacks on Israel on October 7 was on the rise.
Additionally, on Sunday, June 23, there was a reported attack at a Makhachkala police traffic post.
“One of the law enforcement officers killed was Mavludin Khidirnabiev, the head of the Dagestan Lights police department,” according to the Dagestan Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Dagestan head Melikov said, “unknown persons made attempts to destabilize the social situation Dagestan police officers stood in their way. According to preliminary information, there are victims among them.
“The attacks, the encroachment on our brotherhood, on our multinational unity, on our confessional indivisibility, are an attempt to split our unity, thereby creating rifts between us,” Melikov said later in a video address.
In compliance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Republic of Dagestan declared that it has begun an inquiry into possible acts of terrorism following the attacks.
“All the circumstances of the incident and the persons involved in the terrorist attacks are being established and their actions will be given a legal assessment,” the agency said in a statement.
While the inquiry is still ongoing, a few local Russian authorities blamed Ukraine without supplying any supporting documentation.
Dmitry Gadzhiyev, the Dagestani deputy to the State Duma, stated he thinks the attack might have been carried out by the special services of NATO and the Ukraine.
However, Russian senator Dmitry Rogozin refuted the assertion, stating that Russia would face serious issues if it continued to write off every terrorist attack as the product of NATO and Ukraine's schemes.
No comments:
Leave comment here