Dagestan, at least 16 killed in a simultaneous attack yesterday

rose to At least 15 policemen and priests were killed The budgetSimultaneous attack He led against the synagogue In the city of Derbent And against the police In Makhachkalacapital Dagestan In the Caucasus, Russia. Sergei Melikov, the governor of the Dagestan region, spoke on Telegram about “a tragic day for Dagestan and the entire country.” In addition to ”Six militants were killedThe governor added, explaining that “further investigations will be conducted until all members of the sleeper cells are identified.”

Meanwhile, the Russian Armed Forces ended the anti-terrorism operation it carried out in the region by killing several people, the National Anti-Terrorism Unit announced. The National Anti-Terrorism Committee said in a statement, according to what was reported by Russian news agencies, that “after neutralizing the threats to the lives and health of citizens, it was decided to end the anti-terrorism operation in Dagestan.”

In the last few hours In the city of Derbent, gunmen attacked a synagogue, home to the Jewish community in the Muslim-majority region. Russian government agency TASS said the attackers They also opened fire on two Orthodox churches neighbors, killing a police officer and a priest.

A separate shooting incident occurred at the same time. Sh
An armed group of men opened fire on police in Makhachkalathe capital of Dagestan, north along the coast of the Caspian Sea.

Isw: “ISIS’s possible role”

It is likely that members of the Islamic State (ISIS) were behind the double attack. AnalystsIsw, Institute for the Study of WarWhich refuted the Russian hypothesis that Ukraine and NATO were behind the attacks. The Institute for the Study of War instead cites growing tensions between Moscow and Muslim minorities in the Caucasus that are increasing recruitment by extremist groups.

ISW noted, among other things, that after the attack, the Russian IS-K cell, Al-Azayem Media, published a note in which it expressed gratitude to the “brothers of the Caucasus” for demonstrating their capabilities. Although Al-Azayem did not claim responsibility for the operation, the Caucasus quote indicates that responsibility lies with the “Caucasus Province” cell, an ISIS cell active in the Russian region. Since April, the organization has intensified its recruitment requests in the North Caucasus.

Isw analysts also point out that Russian authorities conducted a vague “anti-terrorism operation” in the North Caucasus, but focused their response on unfounded accusations against Ukraine and NATO.