In a shocking turn of events, at least six people, including six police officers, were killed and twelve others were wounded in a series of attacks on a synagogue and an Orthodox church in Dagestan, Russia. The assailants targeted the synagogue in Derbent city and the Orthodox church in Makhachkala city simultaneously. According to reports from Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti, two militants were killed following the attacks. A priest was reportedly killed at the church in Derbent, where he had his throat slit. In addition to this, a security guard at the church was shot and additional priests locked themselves in the church waiting for help. The synagogue in Derbent was set on fire with photos showing large flames and plumes of smoke billowing heavily out of a series of windows on at least one floor of the structure. In Makhachkala, the synagogue was attacked by gunfire, with no further details available as yet. The head of the Dagestan Republic, Sergey Melikov, has issued a message on Telegram stating that unknown persons made attempts to destabilize the social situation in Dagestan. Police officers stood in their way and according to preliminary information, there are casualties among them. The identities of the attackers are being established and an operational headquarters has set up a plan for a counteroperation codenamed 'Interception'. Melikov urged the public to remain calm, stating that panic and fear were what the attackers had hoped for. The Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Republic of Dagestan has launched a terror investigation into these attacks under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. This is a developing story with more details to follow.
