Militants' attacks in Dagestan are first military incidents within more than a year

The attacks committed by militants on churches and synagogues have interrupted a 13-month-long calm period in Dagestan. Earlier, the republic faced a number of attacks on religious figures and worship places.

On June 23, attacks were committed in Derbent and Makhachkala; six suspected militants were killed, and more than 15 law enforcers and several civilians perished.

The previous incident was a shootout near the village of Tsyisha, Kulinsky District, that occurred on May 11, 2023, during which law enforcers killed two young men who rendered armed resistance during detention. Then, law enforcers concluded that the attackers were supporters of the religious extremist movement in Islam.

Let us note here that this March, three months before the militants' attacks, the counterterrorist operation (CTO) regime was introduced in Makhachkala and Kaspiysk. During the CTO, three people who had planned terror acts were detained.

The previous anti-Semitic attack in Dagestan was committed on March 13, 2020, when Izgiyahu Pashaev, a 66-year-old Rabbi, who led the Jewish community of Buynaksk, was severely beaten up in his home. The suspect had been earlier convicted for a similar crime.

In 2021, in the village of Ameterkmakhi, Akushinsky District, due to a land conflict, a local resident shot dead the Imam of the local mosque and wounded two his relatives.

On January 6, 2017, in the village of Mutsalaul, Khasavyurt District, Saigidakhmed Magomedov, the Imam of the earlier closed Salafi mosque, was shot dead.

On September 9, 2015, in the village of Novy Kurush, Khasavyurt District, Imam Magomed Khidirov was shot dead near the mosque. Investigators believed that his religious activities resulted in his murder. Local residents noted that Khidirov was a respected person in the village and enjoyed authority among young people.

In 2014, at least four Islamic leaders were killed in Dagestan.

On September 25, 2014, Shamil Badaviev was shot dead in the village of Teletl, Shamil District. He was an opponent of Salafism, and, according to local residents, this was the reason for the murder.

On May 15, 2014, Omaraskhab Alibegov, Imam of the village of Stalskoye, Kizilyurt District, disappeared in Dagestan. His body was found in a burnt down car. According to the source, Alibegov was a relative of Aliaskhab Kebekov (Abu Muhammad), the leader of the "Imarat Kavkaz"*.

On April 10, 2014, Imam Magomed Zakaryaev was killed in the village of Nechaevka, Kizilyurt District. Unknown masked men fired at him in the courtyard of his house. Investigators then suggested that Zakaryaev was killed by members of illegal armed groups because he called for the fight against extremism.

On March 3, 2013, in the village of Gubden, Karabudakhkent District, Magomed Biyarslanov, a madrasah teacher, was shot dead in his house.

*A terrorist organization operating in Northern Caucasus. On February 8, 2010, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation recognized the "Imarat Kavkaz" as a terrorist organization and banned its activities in the territory of Russia as its members planned and committed terror acts aiming to break Russia's territorial integrity and incite national and religious hatred.