Russia Dagestan attack: At least 20 dead after "skillfully planned" rampage at church, syn

The death toll from a series of brazen attacks on churches and synagogues in Russia's mainly Muslim region of Dagestan rose to 20 on Monday, after gunmen went on the rampage in coordinated attacks in two of the republic's most important cities. Gunmen with automatic weapons burst into an Orthodox church and a synagogue in the ancient city of Derbent on Sunday evening, setting fire to an icon at the church and killing a 66-year-old Orthodox priest, Nikolai Kotelnikov. In the city of Makhachkala, about 125 kilometres north on the Caspian Sea shore, attackers shot at a traffic police post and attacked a church. Sergei Melikov, governor of the Dagestan region, visited the church and house where Kotelnikov used to live in the Dagestani town of Derbent. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack on Christian and Jewish places of worship stoked fears Russia may be facing a renewed militant Islamist threat just three months after a deadly attack in Moscow. For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/10584196/russia-dagestan-attacks-deaths/ Subscribe to Global News Channel HERE: http://bit.ly/20fcXDc Like Global News on Facebook HERE: http://bit.ly/255GMJQ Follow Global News on X HERE: http://bit.ly/1Toz8mt Follow Global News on Instagram HERE: https://bit.ly/2QZaZIB #GlobalNews #Russia #Dagestan