Terrorist Attacks in Two Russian Cities

Multiple gunmen opened fire on two synagogues, two churches and a police checkpoint in the Russian cities of Derbent and Makhachkala, located in the region of Dagestan on Sunday. Latest reports say that several civilians and over 15 police officers were killed.

Attacks: “The synagogue in Derbent is on fire. It has not been possible to extinguish the fire,” wrote Boruch Gorin, chairman of the public council of Russia’s Federation of Jewish Communities. “The synagogue in Makhachkala has also been set on fire and burnt down.”

Israel’s Foreign Ministry reported that no one was inside the synagogues when they were attacked and that it is unaware of any injuries in the Jewish community, which sits in a predominantly Muslim region.

According to Russian state media, a church next to the synagogue in Derbent was also set on fire. In the same city, an Orthodox archpriest, Nikolai Kotelnikov, was “brutally killed.”

The timing and similarity of the attacks in both cities indicate they were coordinated. It is still unclear how many gunmen were killed with the National Anti-Terrorist Committee reporting six and Dagestan Governor Sergei Melikov reporting five.

“We understand who is behind the organization of these terrorist attacks. We understand what the organizers were trying to achieve,” Melikov said on Monday morning. He did not elaborate on details.

“This is a day of tragedy for Dagestan and the whole country,” he said. Flags now fly at half-mast, and all entertainment events have been canceled as the people of Dagestan enter a period of mourning from Monday to Wednesday.

Other attacks: In October last year, anti-Israeli protesters stormed the Makhachkala Uytash Airport “to kill [Jews] with a knife and shoot them.” In March, there was a terrorist attack at a music venue in Moscow.

“We need to understand that war is coming to our home,” Melikov told his people in response to Sunday’s attack. He is right. Offshoots of radical Islam continue to plague the world with terrorism to bring about the return of Allah.

But these terrorist attacks are actually part of a series of events that will culminate in the return of Jesus Christ.

Learn more: Read “‘Where Is God in the Terrorist Attacks?’”