Violence in Dagestan: Rising Death Toll from Islamic Militant Attacks

The death toll has risen to 21 in the recent attacks by Islamic militants in Russia's Dagestan region. The assaults targeted Christian and Jewish houses of worship and police, marking the deadliest event since March. Authorities confirm that 46 are injured and five attackers were killed.

The death toll in the attack by Islamic militants in Russia's southern Dagestan region has tragically climbed to 21, following the death of a wounded police officer in the hospital, according to officials on Tuesday.

The assaults, carried out on Sunday, targeted Christian and Jewish houses of worship and fired upon police in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala, part of the predominantly Muslim North Caucasus region. This incident is now the deadliest in Russia since March when gunmen opened fire at a concert in suburban Moscow, claiming 145 lives.

An affiliate of the Islamic State group in Afghanistan, which claimed responsibility for the March raid, swiftly praised the Dagestan attack, attributing it to "brothers in the Caucasus who showed that they are still strong." The Investigative Committee, Russia's top state criminal investigation agency, has reported that all five attackers were killed. On Tuesday, Mavsum Ragimov, head of the Derbent region, confirmed that a police sergeant succumbed to his injuries in a hospital, increasing the total death toll to 21, with 16 of them being police officers. Dagestan's medical authorities noted that 46 people were injured in the incident, including 13 police officers.

Among the victims was the Rev. Nikolai Kotelnikov, a 66-year-old Russian Orthodox priest at a Derbent church. The attack coincided with the Orthodox celebration of Pentecost, or Trinity Sunday. Dagestan, which experienced near-daily militant attacks in the early 2000s, has seen a decrease in violence in recent years. However, extremist sentiments still evidently run high, as evidenced by a violent airport riot in October targeting a flight from Israel. More than 20 people were injured during the unrest, although none were Israelis.

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