Gunmen kill priest, six police officers in attacks on synagogue, church in Russia

In the southernmost region of Russia, Dagestan, gunmen launched a coordinated series of attacks on Sunday night that included targeting a synagogue, an Orthodox church, and a police post.

According to local sources that cited the interior ministry of the province, at least six police officers have died and twelve more have been injured.

The attacks happened in Derbent, a coastal city, and Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan.


 Speaking to RIA Novosti, Gayana Gariyeva, a spokesperson for Dagestan's interior ministry, said that a 66-year-old Russian Orthodox priest was also murdered in the attacks.

There have apparently been two gunmen dead.

Russia's national anti-terrorist committee stated in a statement that while authorities hunt for the shooters, a counterterrorism operation is under place in Makhachkala and Derbet. 

“Unidentified people fired at a synagogue and a church with automatic weapons,” Reuters reported the region’s interior ministry as saying. “One police officer was killed and one injured.”

Although no one immediately took credit for the attacks, several Dagestani leaders pointed the finger upon NATO and Ukraine.