A coordinated attack on religious sites in Russia’s Dagestan region on Sunday, June 23, 2024 has resulted in the deaths of 15 police officers and four civilians, raising concerns over renewed Islamist violence in the North Caucasus. The assault targeted synagogues and churches in the cities of Makhachkala and Derbent.
Authorities concluded an anti-terrorist operation early Monday, killing five of the attackers. “Five assailants have been liquidated,” the National Antiterrorism Committee stated.
The attacks come three months after Islamic State fighters killed over 140 people at a Moscow concert hall, the deadliest attack on Russia in two decades. Russian officials fear a resurgence of insurgent violence reminiscent of the conflicts in the 1990s and 2000s, though the Kremlin has downplayed these concerns.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov asserted, “There is a different Russia now. Society is consolidated, and such terrorist manifestations are not supported by society in Russia or in Dagestan.”
Dagestan Governor Sergei Melikov condemned the attacks as an effort to destabilize the region. “We know who is behind these terrorist attacks and what objective they are pursuing,” Melikov said, suggesting possible links to the conflict in Ukraine.
The Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Jewish Congress confirmed that the attackers targeted two Orthodox churches, two synagogues, and a police checkpoint. Russian Orthodox Archpriest Nikolai Kotelnikov was among those killed.
Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, decried the violence, stating that the “enemy” aims to disrupt inter-religious peace in Russia. He did not specify who he believed was responsible.
Dagestan has seen heightened tensions since the onset of the Gaza war in October last year. Incidents like the storming of the local airport in October, fueled by social media reports of an incoming flight from Israel, reflect the region’s volatile atmosphere.
Authorities have launched criminal probes into the attacks, described as acts of terror. Investigations are ongoing to locate additional members of “sleeper cells” involved in the assaults, with Governor Melikov indicating potential foreign support for the attackers.
Sunday’s attacks were particularly impactful, coinciding with the Orthodox celebration of Pentecost. Visuals from Derbent showed bloodstains in a church and the charred remains of a synagogue set ablaze by Molotov cocktails.
Moscow continues to report successful anti-terrorist operations in the region, including the arrest of four individuals in April for their involvement in the deadly March attack on Crocus City Hall.
