As many as nine people have been killed and 25 sustained injuries in a coordinated attacks by gunmen in Dagestan, Russia's southernmost province. The Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Republic of Dagestan said it had initiated a "terror investigation" into the attacks under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, CNN reported. Attacks have been reported in churches, synagogues and a police traffic stop in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala, which are about 120km (75 miles) apart.
In a statement, the investigation directorate said, "All the circumstances of the incident and the persons involved in the terrorist attacks are being established, and their actions will be given a legal assessment." Among the dead are seven law enforcement officers, a priest and a church security guard, according to local authorities. Four "militants" have also been killed, according to the Russian news agency TASS.
"According to the information I received, Father Nikolay was killed in the church in Derbent, they slit his throat. He was 66-years-old and very ill," Dagestan Public Monitoring Commission Chairman Shamil Khadulaev said. He also said a security guard at the church armed with only a pistol was shot.
One of the law enforcement officers killed was the head of the "Dagestan Lights" police department, Mavludin Khidirnabiev, according to the Dagestan Ministry of Internal Affairs telegram. At a church in Makhachkala, 19 people locked themselves i.
