At least seven people have been killed and several others injured after a coordinated terrorist attack in the cities of Derbent and Makhtskala in the Dagestan region. in Russia. Among the dead are six police officers and a priest, while photos show two terrorists dead on the ground. According to local media reports, however, the number of dead terrorists is four. Another 16 people have been injured, 13 policemen and the other three civilians.

“The attacks were carried out against two Orthodox churches, a synagogue and a police checkpoint” in Dagestan, the commission said, according to Russia’s Ria-Novosti news agency.

Reports indicate that the terrorists have holed up in a church in the city of Maktskala, while the army and police authorities have cordoned off the area and surrounded the building.

According to reports, even four hours after the attack, street battles between the terrorists and Russian special forces are still going on.

Watch video of the terrorist attack:

According to reports, gunmen opened fire and set fire to a synagogue in the city of Debret, while in the city of Maktskala, another armed group attacked police officers, seized their vehicles and exchanged gunfire in the middle of the road, while a car was also blown up.

According to Russian government sources, the group of terrorists coordinated in the two Russian cities number more than ten people.

Eyewitnesses to the attack told Russian media that a man was heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” and immediately afterwards a car exploded and burst into flames.

As reported by Russian media, two of the terrorists were “eliminated” by men of the Russian special forces.

BEWARE HARD IMAGES

According to videos posted on social media, the synagogue has been engulfed in flames.

The following video shows a group of terrorists killing police officers and shooting with automatic weapons from patrol cars:

Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had opened a criminal investigation into “terrorist acts,” without giving further details.

Dagestan, a federal subject of the Russian Federation, is a Muslim-majority region. The region borders Chechnya, and is also close to Georgia and Azerbaijan.

“This afternoon, in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala, attacks were found against two Orthodox churches, a synagogue and a police checkpoint,” the Russian Anti-Terrorism Committee said, according to the Ria-Novosti news agency.

“According to initial reports, a priest of the Russian Orthodox Church and police officers were killed during these terrorist attacks,” according to the statement.

A total of six policemen were killed and 12 wounded in the attacks, said Dagestan Interior Ministry spokeswoman Gayana Garieva.

The priest, aged 66, was killed in Derbent, he said.

The chairman of the Council of Jewish Communities of the Russian Federation, Baruch Gorin, said on Telegram that “the synagogue in Derbent has gone up in flames.”

“It is impossible to extinguish the fire. Two people were killed: a policeman and a security guard,” he added.

He also pointed out that “the synagogue in Makhachkala was set on fire and burned.”

The leader of Dagestan, Sergey Melikov, wrote on Telegram: “tonight in Derbent and Makhachkala, unknown people tried to destabilize society.”

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