Gunmen in Dagestan hit churches, synagogues

What happened

Gunmen in Russia's southern Dagestan republic carried out what authorities called a coordinated terrorist attack on Orthodox churches, synagogues and police outposts in two cities, Derbent and Makhachkala. Sergei Melikov, Dagestan's governor, said "more than 15 police officers fell victim" in Sunday's attacks, along with a priest and several other civilians.

Who said what

The assailants were not immediately identified, but "Dagestan has in the past been the scene of Islamist attacks," the BBC said. Sunday's attacks, three months after about 140 people were killed in an assault on Moscow's Crocus City Hall theater, "raise concern about the vulnerability of Russia's internal security as critics have blamed authorities for diverting resources toward cracking down on political dissent" and waging war in Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal said. Kremlin allies tried to pin the Moscow attack on Ukraine, though ISIS-K claimed responsibility.

What next?

Since 2022, "Russians have been led to believe that their principal adversaries are Ukraine and the 'collective West,'" the BBC said, and "that's a message Russian authorities are reluctant to change." Dagestan began three days of mourning on Monday.

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