TRANSCRIPT
During an Orthodox Christian festival, gunmen struck - launching
co-ordinated attacks on the cities of Derbent and Makhachkalain Russia's mainly-Muslim Dagestan region.
Along with two Orthodox churches; two synagogues and a police post were also attacked.
The Russian Jewish Congress says the attackers struck less than an hour before evening prayers, using Molotov cocktails to set the buildings on fire.
At least 20 people are dead - including civilians, a priest, and police officers - and at least 46 injured.
The governor of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, says an official mourning period has been declared.
He visited what remains of the church and synagogue in Derbent in the aftermath of what he called terrorist attacks.
"It is a tragedy for Dagestan. And not only for Dagestan, but for our entire country. Unprecedented in their cruelty, terrorist attacks were committed against religious sites in the capital of Dagestan, Makhachkala, and our ancient city of Derbent."
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Russia’s security services claim the intelligence services of Ukraine and NATO countries may have orchestrated the attacks.
Mr Melikov says an investigation is underway to find the culprits, adding he has no doubt that Islamist sleeper cells are behind what happened.
"Subsequent operational search and investigative measures will be carried out until all participants in these sleeper cells are identified, and of course, they had been preparing, including from abroad. I would like to ask all of you, dear Dagestanis, dear guests of the republic, to remain calm. The situation is now under the control of the government authorities and law enforcement agencies."
Russia's Anti-Terrorist Committee says five gunmen have been "eliminated" - and state media reports a Dagestani official has been detained over his sons' involvement in the attacks.
The incident comes almost three months after the affiliate of the Islamic State group, the I-S-K, claimed responsibility for a mass shooting at a Moscow concert hall.
It was the deadliest attack on Russian soil in years. The suspects arrested were members of I-S-K from Tajikistan.
Kremlin critics say the latest attacks show the cost of distraction - with President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine taking up his focus.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejects the idea that Russia has lost control of what is happening in Dagestan.
He says Mr Putin is thinking about those impacted by the shootings.
"President Vladimir Putin expresses deepest condolences to all of those who lost their relatives both in Crimea in a missile attack and to relatives and close ones of those who died in Dagestan. Appropriate help will be provided to everyone and of course, help is being provided by health service now to all of those who have been impacted."
Gregory Shvedov is editor of the Caucasian Knot, which reports on the region.
He has told SBS Russian, the attacks resemble previous attacks on churches and synagogues in Dagestan.
"I believe that that looks like an attack by terrorists, which have been organising attacks of that kind in Dagestan many times over many years. For more than 20 years, Caucasian Knot is recording those attacks, and a lot of them look quite similar, for example attacks on churches, Orthodox churches, have been happening in Dagestan earlier."
Dagestan has long been beset by violence from armed insurgents, with an escalation in the early 2000s.
It's location between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea means it acts as a border between Europe and Asia.
About 95 per cent of the population identifies as Muslim, according to Russian government statistics with the region also home to more than 30 recognised ethnic groups.
Riccardo Valle, is the Director of Research at The Khorasan Diary, a non-partisan centre that monitors the activity of militants and extremists in the region.
He claims the I-S group and other armed groups have been discussing the opportunity that Russia's war in Ukraine presents for them.
"The Islamic State, and especially the Khorasan branch, the one Palestine and Pakistan based, - in their magazines in English language and Pashto language, but also recently in Tajik language, they wrote articles, all articles about how Ukraine is the so-called, as they call it, "black hole" for the West and Russia. Meaning that while the West and Russia is focusing their attention on Ukraine, jihadists can take advantage of this situation and strike."
In the early 2000s, Dagestan saw near-daily attacks on police and other authorities that were blamed on militant extremists.
The violence has abated in recent years, but in a sign that extremist sentiments still run high in the region, mobs rioted at an airport there in October 2023, targeting a flight from Israel.
That event challenged the Kremlin's narrative that ethnic and religious groups coexist in harmony in Russia.
Harold Chambers is a political and security analyst on the North Caucasus.
"The authorities’ response initially was significantly more than we have seen in the past, but still lacking, particularly with response time. They were definitely caught off guard by this attack, which authorities in Dagestan and federally have been (caught off guard) repeatedly. So what you're seeing here is still this disconnect between Russian counterterrorism capability and what the terrorists' capability is inside of Russia."
