Death toll from terror attack in Russia’s Dagestan rises to 21

MOSCOW — The death toll in the attack by Islamic terrorists in Russia’s southern region of Dagestan has risen to 21 after a wounded police officer has died in a hospital, officials say.

Sunday’s attack, in which gunmen attacked Christian and Jewish houses of worship and fired at police in the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala in the predominantly Muslim region in the North Caucasus, was the deadliest in Russia since March, when gunmen opened fire at a concert in suburban Moscow, killing 145 people.

An affiliate of the Islamic State group in Afghanistan, which claimed responsibility for March’s raid, was quick to praise the attack in Dagestan, saying it was conducted by “brothers in the Caucasus who showed that they are still strong.”

The Investigative Committee, Russia’s top state criminal investigation agency, says all five attackers were killed.

Mavsum Ragimov, head of the Derbent region, says that a police sergeant died of his wounds in a hospital today, bringing the total number of victims to 21, 16 of them police.

Medical authorities in Dagestan said yesterday that at least 46 people were injured, 13 of them police.

Among the dead was the Rev. Nikolai Kotelnikov, a 66-year-old Russian Orthodox priest at a church in Derbent. The attack came as the Orthodox faithful celebrated Pentecost, also known as Trinity Sunday.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.