Militants target police and religious sites, at least 20 dead

More than 20 people, predominantly police officers, lost their lives in a brazen series of attacks carried out by armed militants across Russia’s southern republic of Dagestan on Sunday.

The violence unfolded late Sunday evening when gunmen armed with automatic weapons stormed an Orthodox church and a synagogue in the historic city of Derbent. Tragically, 66-year-old Orthodox priest Nikolai Kotelnikov was killed in the attack, during which the assailants also set fire to an icon within the church. Simultaneously, in Makhachkala, situated approximately 125 kilometres (about 75 miles) north along the Caspian Sea, attackers targeted a traffic police post and launched an assault on another church.

In Makhachkala, gun battles erupted near the Assumption Cathedral, with heavy automatic gunfire echoing through the night. Disturbing footage captured residents fleeing for cover as plumes of smoke billowed above the city skyline.

The Investigative Committee of Russia confirmed that 15 policemen and four civilians lost their lives in the coordinated attacks. Additionally, 46 people sustained injuries, according to Dagestan’s healthcare ministry.