Terror attack in Russia leaves Orthodox priest and at least 15 police dead.

 

Clip from a video showing the attack. Reuters. 

A terror attack in Russia's Dagestan region left an Orthodox priest and at least 15 police officers dead. Reuters. It is unclear how many casualties occurred with more deaths outside of the priest suspected. The attacks occurred simultaneously in the cities of Makhachkala and Derbent. Two attackers set a synagogue and church on fire in Derbent before being killed by police. A second synagogue was burnt in Makhachkala. At least six gunmen were killed by police. Dagestan was a center of terrorism but the Islamic insurgency was declared defeated in 2017. However, there have been several attacks either planned or executed from the region since then. Two of the attackers were the sons of the head of the Sergokala district in Dagestan. 

My Comment:

This is breaking news story and as always, the casualty numbers are not final and will likely increase. I think that is almost certain given the number of attackers and the one confirmed civilian casualty. It's also not even clear how many terrorists were involved in the attack, with some sources saying five, some saying six while other saying that some are still on the loose. 

It's unclear who is responsible for the attack, but given that two of the attackers were locals, I am guessing it wasn't Ukraine. The attackers are pretty clearly Muslims and that would lead me to believe that it's either ISIS or another Islamic terror group. Given that they targeted Jews and Christians as well is pretty good evidence that this is Islamic terrorism. 

Coordinated terror attacks in Russia (Dagestan) - a synagogue is set on fire, police killed, and a priest allegedly beheaded as Islamic terrorists screaming “Allahu Akbar” cause havoc in Derbent and Makhachkala.

This is the same region the Boston Marathon suicide bomber brothers… pic.twitter.com/sUKcfdSuSk

— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) June 23, 2024

Islamic terrorism is making a comeback in Russia. In addition to this attack, there was the major terror attack in Moscow that left more than 100 dead. It's also important to note that this was the same region where a passenger jet was attacked because of the presence of Jews on the flight. Dagestan is also where the Boston Marathon attackers were from.  It's not at all surprising that a major terror attack happened there. 

It's also not a surprised that they martyred a priest and fired a church and two synagogues. This would absolutely not be the first time that Islamic terrorists have done either. From what it sounds like the Orthodox priest was a good person so it's yet another example of Islamic terrorism killing the innocent. 

Archpriest Nikolai (Kotelnikov) was killed in Derbent during an attack on Orthodox Church.

The priest served in Derbent for more than 40 years. He taught at a local Sunday school. Father Nikolai moved to Dagestan from Stavropol. He is survived by his wife, three daughters and 6… pic.twitter.com/vT2ucTvBoi

— Olia (@OliaOnX) June 23, 2024

I also don't think this is really blowback from the Gaza war. If anything it was probably inspired by either the October 7th attack or the Moscow attack. Both of those attacks were the most successful terror attacks in years and success breeds imitation. However, it seems very likely given the number of attackers, at least five, that this was an "official" terror attack by a major terror organization. 

If it does turn out to be ISIS that is a bad sign. ISIS was defeated in Iraq, Syria and Libya but it never was completely destroyed in Afghanistan and they may have been able to regroup and recover. Given the increased pace of attacks it seems very likely. If it isn't ISIS though? Then there is probably a new terror group operating in Russia.