In Dagestan, a republic in North Caucasus, Russia, attacks on police stations, churches, and a synagogue have resulted in the deaths of 19 persons and five gunmen.
After the incident on Sunday night, at least 16 individuals were injured and admitted to the hospital.
In Dagestan, a mostly Muslim province in southern Russia that borders Chechnya, three days have been set aside for mourning.
During the Orthodox celebration of Pentecost, the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala were the target of what appeared to be well-planned attacks, resulting in the deaths of an Orthodox priest.
Later, Father Nikolai Kotelnikov, who had served in Derbent for more than 40 years, was identified by Sergei Melikov, the head of the Republic of Dagestan.
In Derbent, which is home to a historic Jewish community, gunmen opened fire on a church and a synagogue on Sunday night.
Attacks occurred on a church and a police post close to a synagogue in Makhachkala, the capital city of Dagestan.
Before a convoy of rescue vehicles arrived at the location, footage from Makhachkala’s police cars showed persons in dark clothing shooting at them on social media.
Islamist attacks have occurred in the past in Dagestan.
The Russian media extensively reported that two of the gunmen were the sons of Magomed Omarov, the chairman of the Sergokala district, who was taken into custody by the police, despite the fact that the attackers have not yet been officially recognized.
On the other hand, Mr. Melikov suggested in a video sent to Telegram that Dagestan was now directly engaged in Russia’s conflict in Ukraine and that Ukraine had been implicated in the attack.
“The war is coming to our homes,” Mr Melikov said.
“We understand who is behind the organisation of the terrorist attacks and what goal they pursued,” he said.
