Attacks carried out by 'sleeper cells' directed from abroad, claims Dagestani governor

The Dagestani regional governor visited the site of a weekend attack by Islamist militants, which killed 20 and injured another 26. 

The region observed the first of three official days of mourning on Monday following the attack – which took the lives of 15 police officers, and a 66-year-old Orthodox priest and set a church and synagogue on fire. 

20 people were killed and and 26 were injured as a result of the attacks in Makhachkala and Derbent, according to the regional health minister Tatyana Belyaeva. 

The regional governor Sergei Melikov visited the church and synagogue in Derbent and spoke with priests and members of the local Jewish community. 

Shortly after the attacks in Derbent, the militants had fired at police in the regional capital of Makhackala before they were killed by special forces. 

All five attackers were killed according to the Investigative Committee, the country’s top state criminal investigation agency.  Their identities have reportedly been established. 

While there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, the Dagestani governor said it was performed by members of Islamist “sleeper cells” directed from abroad. 

In a video statement, Melikov said the attackers aimed at “sowing panic and fear” and linked the attacks to Moscow’s military action in Ukraine without offering evidence. 

The attackers reportedly included the two sons and a nephew of Magomed Omarov, the head of the Kremlin’s party United Russia’s regional branch in Dagestan. 

Omarov was detained by police for interrogation and dismissed from United Russia. 

Sunday’s violence was the latest that officials blamed on Islamist extremists in the predominantly Muslim region in the North Caucus – as well as the deadliest in Russia since