Russia ends anti-terror operation in Dagestan, death toll rises – DW – 24.06.2024

Investigators in Russia said on Monday that the death toll in the attacks in Dagestan had risen to 19, including four civilians.

“According to preliminary information, 15 police officers and four civilians were killed, including an Orthodox priest,” the Russian Investigative Committee said of Sunday’s attack, adding that five perpetrators had also been “liquidated.”

Anti-terror operation ended

Russian media agencies had previously reported that the anti-terrorist operation launched following the attacks by armed men on Orthodox churches and a synagogue in Dagestan had ended.

“After neutralizing the threats to the life and health of citizens, it was decided to end the anti-terrorist operation in Dagestan as of 05:15 GMT,” the National Anti-Terrorism Committee said, according to Russian news agencies.

On Sunday, security forces responded to attacks on a synagogue and an Orthodox church in Derbent, and subsequently on a church and a police station in the state capital Makhachkala, about 100 kilometers away.

Footage broadcast by Russian media showed the synagogue in flames, and videos circulating on social media showed shootings in the streets.

Days of mourning declared

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were declared days of mourning in the region.

Although no one has directly claimed responsibility for the attacks, the Russian state news agency TASS quoted anonymous law enforcement sources as saying: “The armed men who carried out the attacks in Makhachkala and Derbent are supporters of an international terrorist organization,” without naming a specific organization.

Dagestan is a predominantly Muslim region east of Chechnya, where Russian authorities fought separatists in two brutal wars, first from 1994 to 1996 and then from 1999 to 2000.

The latest attack came three months after more than 140 people were killed in an attack on a Moscow concert hall, which the so-called terrorist militia “Islamic State” in Afghanistan, also known as Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), claimed responsibility for.

ISIS-K has killed thousands in attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 2015.

kb/ab (AFP, AP)