Attacks on churches, synagogues in Russia’s Dagestan: What we know
The incident follows a major ISIS attack in Moscow in March.
Israel and Iran were among countries in the region that condemned on Monday the attacks on churches and synagogues in Russia's Dagestan region, as the country grapples with a resurgent Islamic State and antisemitic violence.
What happened: Gunmen attacked a church, a synagogue and a police traffic stop in Dagestan’s capital, Makhachkala, as well as a church and a synagogue in nearby Derbent on Sunday, killing 20 people, including police and civilians. Six militants were additionally killed, Russia’s official news agency Tass reported.
Videos on social media showed the synagogue in Derbent on fire after the attacks.
The identities of the attackers have been determined, Tass reported without providing further details. The outlet added that Magomed Omarov, the head of Dagestan’s Sergokalinsky district, was detained over his son’s alleged involvement.
The Associated Press reported on Monday that the Islamic State’s (ISIS) affiliate in Afghanistan praised the Dagestan attacks, saying they were carried out by "brothers in the Caucasus who showed that they are still strong." Dagestan Governor Sergei Melikov blamed the attacks on Islamic “sleeper cells," but did not provide further details, according to the outlet.
Dagestan is an autonomous republic within the Russian Federation. It is located in the Caucus and borders Chechnya. The majority of the population is Muslim, with additional small Orthodox Christian and Jewish communities. Dagestani Jews, known as “Mountain Jews,” speak a form of Persian and number just a few thousand.
Tass identified Father Nikolai Kotelnikov, an Orthodox priest in Derbent, as one of the victims.
The father, killed today, was Nikolai. He moved to Dagestan from Stavropol. For more than 40 years he served in the Derbent church and taught Orthodoxy https://t.co/5zY4effQDm pic.twitter.com/SI9H6zSvLo
— Çağatay Cebe (@Mucagcebe) June 23, 2024
Regional reactions: Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein condemned the attacks in a Monday statement on X.
“Our condolences to the Russian People and the families of the victims of last night's horrible terror attacks in Dagestan against Jewish synagogues and Orthodox Churches,” he wrote. “Terror must be condemned and fought globally. Terrorism must not be tolerated!”
Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said on X on Monday that “Egypt condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist attacks that targeted places of worship and a police station in Dagestan.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani condemned the attacks in a Monday statement, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.
Why it matters: The attacks in Dagestan follow a major ISIS attack earlier this year, as well as recent attacks on Jewish targets in the country. In March, ISIS’ Khorasan (ISIS-K) branch claimed credit for an attack at a music venue near Moscow, leaving 145 dead. ISIS-K operates in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and its fighters are predominantly from Central Asia.
A month later, Russian authorities said they thwarted an attack at a Jewish institution in Moscow.
In October 2023, a mob stormed Makhachkala’s airport in an attempt to lynch Jewish and Israeli passengers after a flight from Israel landed. The incident increased tensions between Israel and Russia, Al-Monitor’s Rina Bassist reported at the time.
Correction: June 24, 2024. An earlier version of this article mistakenly said that an ISIS affiliate claimed the Dagestan attacks, rather they praised them.
