Terror strikes in Dagestan: 17 dead, including 15 police officers

At least 17 people, including 15 police officers, died on Sunday in terrorist attacks on two Orthodox churches, two synagogues, and a police station in Derbent and Makhachkala in Dagestan, located in Russia's North Caucasus.

The tragic death toll from the terrorist attacks in Dagestan was reported overnight from Sunday to Monday by Sergey Melikov, the head of the autonomous Republic of Dagestan. In a video recording on the Telegram channel, he stated that at least 17 people had died, including as many as 15 police officers.

Russian media, citing local authorities, report that several civilians, including a religious figure, were also killed. Sixteen people were transported to hospitals. The National Anti-Terrorism Committee of Dagestan reported that five attackers were killed.

Currently, operational activities are still ongoing to arrest the remaining terrorists and their accomplices.

According to Dagestani authorities, unidentified terrorists fired on sacred sites and the police station with automatic weapons. Rabbi Boruch Gorin, head of the public council of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, quoted by the newspaper "Kommersant," said that "as a result of the attack by unknown perpetrators, a synagogue and a church in Derbent and a synagogue in Makhachkala were burned down."

Fighting in Derbent and Makhachkala continued into late Sunday evening. An anti-terrorist regime has been introduced in the republic. Sergey Melikov called the attacks "an attempt to destabilize the social situation" in the region. According to the politician, the authorities currently fully control the situation.

In connection with the attacks in Derbent and Makhachkala, a 3-day mourning period was declared in Dagestan.