​​The Russian region of Dagestan has been rocked by a series of shooting incidents that have left more than 15 policemen and two assailants dead, the region’s interior ministry said, as well as a Russian orthodox priest who had his throat cut according to several reports. Attacks were mounted on sites including a synagogue and two churches.

“According to the information I received, Father Nikolai was killed in a church in Derbent, his throat was cut. He was 66 years old and very ill. Security guard Mikhail in the Makhachkala-1 church, armed only with a gas pistol, was shot. The priests locked themselves in the church, waiting for help,” the chairman of the Public Monitoring Commission of Dagestan, Shamil Khadulaev, said in a post on social media.

A second shooting incident reportedly broke out at 8pm local time and all roads into and out of the seaside town of Derbent where the shootings happened have been closed as the Rosgvardia national internal security troops arrive in the city to bring order.

"Six gunmen were killed. Further operative and search and investigative action will continue until detecting all the participants of sleeper cells, which were definitely prepared in particular from abroad," head of the region Sergey Melikov said.

The governor said a total of six “bandits” had been “liquidated.”

Video posted on social media by the authorities show several men clad in black and bullet proof vests firing machine guns at police at 6pm local time. Another video showed at least two of the assailants apparently dead on the road, while separate video showed at least two more attackers detained by police on the nearby Beryozka beach. Other attackers reportedly fled in a car after the attack on the synagogue.

“Unidentified people fired at a synagogue and a church with automatic weapons,” the interior ministry said according to local media. “One police officer was killed and one injured.” Reports say two of the assailants shot two policemen guarding the local synagogue in Derbent before throwing Molotov cocktails inside and setting the building ablaze.

As far as is known, there were no worshippers in the synagogues at the time of the attack, and there are no known casualties among the Jewish community, the Jerusalem Post reports.

A total of 13 people were wounded in the first attack, the interior ministry was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. A third police officer was killed in a shootout following an attack on a police station in the regional capital of Makhachkala, 125km away from Derbent, where more fighting is reported.

Unknown assailants attacked a traffic police post, killing one police officer and injuring six others, according to TASS.

According to a source from Telegram channel 112, the death toll was higher: nine people died, of which seven were police officers, and another 25 people were injured, RFE/RL Russian service reports. There is no official confirmation of this information.

A second attack reportedly broke out at about 8pm local time. A major anti-terrorist operation in the enclave on September 19 has been declared by the authorities in the region.

Dagestan is predominantly Muslim, but Derbent is home to an ancient South Caucasus Jewish community and a UNESCO world heritage site.

Russia has long suffered from a terrorism problem, but there have been no major attacks until the Crocus City Hall attack mall on March 22 this year when terrorists from Tajikistan in Central Asia under the banner of the Islamic State – Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) that left over 140 dead.

State news agency TASS cited a law enforcement source as saying the "gunmen who carried out attacks in Makhachkala and Derbent are supporters of an international terrorist organization," without naming it. Militants from Dagestan are known to have travelled to join the Islamic State group in Syria. ISIS declared it had established a "franchise" in the North Caucasus in 2015.

The allegiance of the attackers in Dagestan has not been determined, however, according to N12 and Jewish community reports the attack was carried out by ISIS, the Jerusalem Post reports.

In Makhachkala, the attackers of the synagogue left writings on the door, one of them is "2:120". This is a reference to the second Surah of the Qur'an: "Never will the Jews be pleased with thee. nor yet the Christians, unless thou follow their own creeds. Say, "God's guidance is the true guidance". If you were to follow their desires after what has come to you of knowledge, you would have against Allah no protector or helper". 

One of the terrorists who was killed by the Russian National Guard in a shootout is believed to be Gadzhimurad Kagirov; a 28-year-old MMA fighter from Makhachkala and a member of Eagles MMA, an organization and fighting gym established by former UFC lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Two of the sons of Magomed Omarov, the head of Dagestan's Sergokalinsky district were reportedly amongst the attackers. Omarov was detained by police, state news agencies reported, citing law enforcement agencies.

Dagestan has seen occasional violence, but it never suffered from the full-scale Islamic revolt that led to two secessionist wars in neighbouring Chechnya in the 1990s.

Dagestan last made the headlines in 2023 after a crowd stormed the local airport in an attempted pogrom against Jewish travellers landing from Israel. No one was hurt in that incident.

Dagestan regional governor Sergei Melikov called the shooting an attempt to destabilise Russian society, according to RIA Novosti.

The three-day mourning is announced in Dagestan due to attacks of militants.

This story has been updated to include fresh reports.