26 June 2024

Daghestan Attacks: What Happened And Why – Analysis


At least 20 people were killed, including 15 police officers, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee, when gunmen attacked a synagogue, two Russian Orthodox churches, and police targets in the regional capital, Makhachkala, and the city of Derbent, some 120 kilometers to the south. Five gunmen were reportedly killed, while 16 people — including 13 police officers — were reportedly injured.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The incident came in the context of Daghestan’s decades-long simmering unrest, with fuel thrown on the fire by Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Vilayat Kavkaz

The Russian authorities have not released the names of the five slain gunmen. However, Caucasus-related Telegram channels have identified two of them as sons of Magomed Omarov, a local district head and ruling United Russia party official who was promptly expelled over the incident. Another of the killed attackers was said to have been Omarov’s nephew. Omarov has reportedly been detained on suspicion of abetting terrorism.

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