Terrorist attacks on synagogue and churches in Russia

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 24 Jun 2024 by Alex Teddy

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On June 23 a police post and places of worship were attacked by gunmen in Dagestan. The police post was there to protect the synagogue. Dagestan is the home of an ethnic minority Muslim community in the Caucasus and has been plagued by terrorism since the 1990s. In the late 2000s the situation improved. However, in the last few years it has taken a turn for the worse. There has been an upsurge in such activity since the Gaza War began even though Russia lambasts Israel over Gaza.  19 people have been pronounced dead and 16 are wounded. It is likely that some of them will succumb to their injuries. Several of the dead are police officers. There is an ISIS presence in Dagestan. The authorities say that the police killed some of the terrorists and the dead terrorists have been identified by name.  The North Caucasus is a volatile region. Nearby Caucasus was the scene of vicious fighting for about 10 years after 1991. It is now ruled by a Putin loyalist named Ramazan Kadyrov. The attacks took place in 2 different cities on the Orthodox feast of Pentecost. Dagestan proclaimed 3 days of mourning. There are claims on the Russian social messaging app Telegram that Ukraine is behind the attacks. Kyiv vigorously denies any connection to the attacks. Russia also accused Ukraine of masterminding the Crocus City Hall attacks earlier in 2024. The attacks came the same day that Ukrainian missiles struck Russian-occupied Crimea. Dagestan is hunting for any more terrorists who may be waiting to perpetrate other attacks.