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Gunmen launch attack in Russian republic

Three days of mourning were declared in the wake of the attacks. Credit: Reuters

Attacks on police posts, churches and a synagogue in the Russian republic of Dagestan have left 19 police officers and several civilians dead. Social media footage from the city of Makhachkala captured gunmen firing in the street, while a clip from Derbent - home to an ancient Jewish community - showed buildings on fire. Sunday's attacks coincided with the Orthodox festival of Pentecost and a long-serving priest is said to be among the dead. Police detained the head of one district near Makhachkala following reports that two of his sons were among the attackers, and said six gunmen had been killed. Dagestan, one of Russia's poorest provinces, is predominantly Muslim and has in the past been the scene of Islamist attacks. The Kremlin has dismissed the possibility of another wave of violence. Dagestan's head, Sergei Melikov, implied Ukraine had been involved in this attack. 

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• In March: After an attack on the Crocus City Hall near Moscow, authorities blamed Ukraine and the West, even though the Islamic State group claimed it. BBC Verify debunked the myths.

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• Mob violence: Last October, hundreds of men chanted antisemitic slogans as they stormed Makhachkala's airport seeking arrivals from Tel Aviv. We examined how social media was used to stoke aggression.

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• 'Land of the mountains': Read BBC Monitoring's profile of Dagestan, Russia's most ethnically diverse province, which borders Georgia and Azerbaijan.  

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