Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
 The attacks by militants in Dagestan were a failure of the security forces, who did not pay due attention to preventive work, said veterans of the special services interviewed by the Caucasian Knot. The attackers' actions were similar to the tactics of Islamic State militants*, they noted.
As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, at 18.00 Moscow time on June 23, the Christian holiday of the Holy Trinity, militants attacked an Orthodox church and synagogue in Derbent, and a traffic police post in Makhachkala. One of those killed by the security forces was the nephew of the head of the Sergokalinsky district, Ali Zakarigaev, who headed the district branch of A Just Russia. The head of the district, Magomed Omarov, was expelled from United Russia and relieved of his post after the militant attack. Omarov’s sons, like his nephew, are involved in militants, the head of Dagestan said today.
As a result of the attack, 15 security officials were killed, as well as four civilians, including an Orthodox priest, Sledkom reported today. According to later data from the Dagestan Ministry of Health, 20 people were killed and 46 injured as a result of the attack. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report " Attack on a church and synagogues in Dagestan."
Judging by the available information, the attack was prepared in advance, convinced military expert, captain of the first rank of the reserve Vasily Dandykin. “It just doesn’t happen that terrorist attacks occurred in two cities simultaneously that were not prepared in advance. Apparently, they prepared for a long time, did some work and were able to carry out this monstrous act. It seems that these were prepared people, perhaps even with experience fighting," he told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
He did not rule out that the militants could be associated with the Islamic State. “The investigation will tell who exactly they were connected with, but judging by what I saw, it resembles ISIS. I think they are somehow connected. These attacks are similar to attacks by ISIS in different cities of the world. And it is noteworthy that they were attacked objects of religious worship. This is also their handwriting,” he noted.
The verses of the Koran, references to which were left by the attackers at the synagogue in Derbent, are interpreted by extremists to justify confrontation with Jews and Christians, religious scholars Leonid Syukiyainen and Dmitry Mikulsky pointed out. The date of the attack on the temple was chosen by the militants because of the Christian holiday celebrated on that day, they suggested.
According to the expert, the murder of more than 15 security forces indicates “certain problems” in the fight against militants and terrorism in general. “In my opinion, the killers turned out to be more professional than the security forces who initially appeared in front of them and tried to neutralize them. Then a large number of forces were concentrated, and the militants were left no chance. But the number of our security forces killed suggests that there are certain problems, shortcomings, there is something to think about and something to work on.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs talked about the lack of personnel, especially after the start of the Northern Military District, when many went to fight. The main thing here is to work to identify and detain militants; operational work is more necessary than counter-terrorism operations. shoot at them, and identify and carefully detain them even during the planning of such terrorist attacks,” Dandykin is sure.
He also added that law enforcement agencies should have more carefully guarded religious sites in Dagestan. “The attack on synagogues in Dagestan after recent anti-Semitic actions could have been prevented, as well as on the church. On the eve of such a holiday as Trinity, it would be worth sending security there, for example, guys in civilian clothes, let them be on duty and control the situation. This is a big drawback,” emphasized Vasily Dandykin.
The number of killed security forces speaks volumes about the failure. These are serious losses
The president of the Association of Veterans of the Alpha anti-terror unit, Sergei Goncharov, considered the attacks in Makhachkala and Derbent a failure of the security forces. “Not that it can be considered [a failure], it is what it is. If it is confirmed that the militants were the sons of a Dagestan official, then there will be nothing to talk about. In addition, the number of killed security forces speaks about the failure. These are serious losses, they raise questions, whether forces were used correctly during the counter-terrorist operation, whether this operation was organized correctly, and so on,” he told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.
In his assessment, the attack was prepared by experienced people. “These are experienced people, since they were able to plan and implement this. Killing 15 or more of our guys is not just attacking a patrol car and running away. It’s quite difficult and dangerous. And they were able to kill so many security forces. The coordination [of the attackers] was also high level. Everything was planned down to the smallest detail. They also wanted to create ethnic discord. They didn’t just attack on the day of the Christian holiday. It was impossible to provide round-the-clock security for all cultural and religious sites in our country. strengthen the security of churches and synagogues in Dagestan,” Goncharov noted.
The attacks in Derbent and Makhachkala were the first armed incidents in the republic in more than a year. At the same time, a number of incidents involving attacks on religious figures and places of worship occurred earlier in Dagestan.
According to him, the most effective way to fight terrorism is intelligence work. “First of all, intelligence and operational work should be carried out in the North Caucasus. We must try to ensure that the population helps law enforcement officers. If this is not done, then we will continue to suffer losses,” said Sergei Goncharov.
Retired Interior Ministry Colonel Amir Kolov also believes that the security forces have failed in their work in the fight against terrorism. “From the point of view of this position, this sabotage and terrorist action is a failure of the Russian special services or a betrayal on the part of the leadership of the security bloc responsible for security in the south of Russia. I would not be surprised if, under the pretext of taking security measures in the south of Russia, in particular in Dagestan, these traitors from the leadership of the power bloc of Russia and Dagestan will begin to put pressure on or persecute the real patriots of Dagestan and Russia in the person of leaders and activists of independent public organizations that are not supported by the authorities, unlike various kinds of public councils and trade unions under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB, the prosecutor's office, Investigative Committee and other government agencies,” Amir Kolov told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.
Former employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dagestan Magomed Shamilov believes that the failure of the security forces is due to their relaxation. “It might have seemed to many that there had been no terrorist attacks in Dagestan for several years, and that there was no longer a danger from IS militants in the republic. Yes, there were positive results, but there was no need to relax. We had to continue operational work, search and find everyone those who sympathize with them,” he told the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.
Shamilov also believes that the attack on the synagogue and church was a planned action. “These are definitely prepared people, they almost didn’t miss, this suggests that they prepared for a long time. The question is why they didn’t hide. Apparently, the goal was to kill as many security forces as possible. If security had been strengthened, then it would have been possible it would be possible to avoid large casualties," he said.
The handwriting of the attackers is reminiscent of the actions of IS militants*, although the participants in the attack in Dagestan did not use the symbols of the banned organization, Islamic scholar and senior researcher at the Center for Caucasus Problems and Regional Security at MGIMO Akhmet Yarlykapov told Lenta.ru.
“It’s very similar to how representatives of the Islamic State carry out terrorist attacks*. However, many questions remain, since this time there was no noticeable tinsel associated with this organization: black armbands with inscriptions and so on. Perhaps they have already abandoned all this. So far no one has claimed responsibility for this attack, so we need to wait and see what happens,” the publication quotes him as saying today.
Let us recall that on June 23, the American Institute for the Study of War stated that the “Vilayat Caucasus” cell, a division of the “Islamic State”*, was behind the attacks. Pro-IS sources released a statement praising the “brothers from the Caucasus” for demonstrating what they are capable of. These sources did not claim responsibility for the attack itself, but the report "strongly suggests" that Wilayat Kavkaz was responsible for the attack, the researchers said.
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The mayor's office of Derbent has denied the information about the slit of the priest's throat
Priest Nikolai Kotelnikov was shot dead during a militant attack; the information that his throat was cut is not true, the Derbent mayor's office reported.
As the "Caucasian Knot" wrote, at 18.00 Moscow time on June 23, the Christian holiday of the Holy Trinity, militants attacked an Orthodox church and synagogue in Derbent, and a traffic police post in Makhachkala. One of those killed was 66-year-old priest Father Nikolai.
According to the Dagestan Ministry of Health, 20 people were killed and 46 injured as a result of the attack. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report " Attack on a church and synagogues in Dagestan."
The information that priest Nikolai Kotelnikov’s throat was cut is not true, the head of the press service of the Derbent mayor’s office, Telman Radzhabov, said today in his Telegram channel. “The priest died from a bullet wound,” he wrote.
The fact that the priest’s throat was cut was announced on the evening of June 23 by Shamil Khadulaev, deputy chairman of the POC of Dagestan, in his telegram channel. “According to the information I received, Father Nikolai was killed in a church in Derbent and his throat was cut,” he wrote.
The attacks by militants in Dagestan were a failure of the security forces, who did not pay due attention to preventive work, security service veterans interviewed by the Caucasian Knot pointed out today. The attackers' actions were similar to the tactics of militants of the banned terrorist organization Islamic State, they noted.
The verses of the Koran, references to which were left by the attackers at the synagogue in Derbent, are interpreted by extremists to justify confrontation with Jews and Christians, religious scholars Leonid Syukiyainen and Dmitry Mikulsky pointed out. The date of the attack on the temple was chosen by the militants because of the Christian holiday celebrated on that day, they suggested.
The attacks in Derbent and Makhachkala were the first armed incidents in the republic in more than a year. At the same time, a number of incidents involving attacks on religious figures and places of worship occurred earlier in Dagestan.
Adds SOLDIER OF FORTUNE
One of the terrorists in Dagestan was planning to escape wearing a niqab.
One of the liquidated terrorists, Daudov Dalgat, was found wearing a niqab. He was going to cowardly run away in it after committing a terrorist attack, leaving his wife and two children.
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You already have them
Wahhabi party cell
One of the militants liquidated in Dagestan previously headed the regional branch of A Just Russia, the party told RIA Novosti.
“Ali Zakarigaev was the chairman of the party branch in the Sergokalinsky district, two years ago he left this position,” said the head of the apparatus of the regional branch of the party “A Just Russia - For Truth” Zurida Valeeva.
A source in the security forces reported to RIA Novosti that Zakarigaev was eliminated during a counter-terrorist operation in Dagestan.
Later, the press service of the SRZP RIA Novosti confirmed that Ali Zakarigaev was previously the chairman of the branch council in the Sergokalinsky district, but in 2021 he left the post and became an ordinary member of the party. Today he was expelled.
Law enforcement agencies told the agency that Zakarigaev was the nephew of the head of the Sergokalinsky district of Dagestan, Magomed Omarov.
Last night, the regional branch of United Russia announced Omarov's expulsion from the party. As a RIA Novosti source in the republic's security forces reported, his sons, according to security officials, were among the participants in the attack.
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