Churches and synagogues targeted
This story is just breaking. The mostly Muslim region of Dagestan in the North Caucasus region of Russia has been hit with terrorist attacks against churches and synagogues in two separate cities, Makhachkala and Derbent. The latter city is home to an ancient Jewish community. At least 6 policemen and a priest have reportedly been killed.
Here is BBC's report, which has video of the gunmen.
Dagestan is a hotbed of radical Islamist activity. The perpetrators of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, the Tsarnaev brothers, immigrated to the US from Dagestan. (Their family had previously moved there from Kyrgyzstan.)
The same year, a rabbi, Ovadia Isikov, was shot and wounded in Derbent . He was evacuated to Israel, where he recovered.
*Update: June 24, 2024. At last count, the death toll is at 20, including 15 police officers and a 66-year-old priest whose throat was cut. In addition, at least 6 terrorists are believed to be dead.
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