Terror in Russia after gunmen open fire at two synagogues leaving six police officers dead before attacking an Orthodox Church and slitting the throat of a priest

Two synagogues and an Orthodox church across southern Russia have today been attacked by militant gunmen, who killed six police officers and slit the throat of a priest. 

The attackers fired at the religious sites, as well as a police station, across the tinderbox region of Dagestan, a largely Muslim region of Russia that borders Georgia and Azerbaijan. Authorities have said that at least 12 people were injured during the attacks. 

A synagogue in regional capital Makhachkala was set alight, with smoke seen pouring from the building, while another was set on fire in Derbent, the southernmost city in Russia which lies roughly 80 miles south of Makhachkala. 

The attackers, who have still not been identified, attacked the Kele-Numaz synagogue, the only Jewish place of worship in Derbent, which was also where militants attacked a priest and a guard who both worked at an Orthodox church in the city. 

The priest, named locally as 66-year-old Father Nikolai Kotelnikov who served more than 40 years in Derbent, reportedly had this throat slit by the gunmen. 

The attackers fired at the religious sites, as well as a police station, across the tinderbox region of Dagestan, which borders Chechnya

Two synagogues and an Orthodox church across southern Russia have today been attacked by militant gunmen

So far, two of the attackers involved in the deadly shootings have been killed

It is not currently know how many people were involved in the shootings, nor is it known who is behind them

Two police officers were killed in the attack, it was reported

So far, two of the attackers involved in the deadly shootings have been killed, Russia's interior ministry said. 

Many of them managed to flee, with local media reporting that the attackers in Derbent, which is home to an ancient Jewish community and a UNESCO World Heritage site, escaped in a White Volkswagen Polo. 

The chairman of the public council of Russia's Federation of Jewish Communities, Boruch Gorin wrote on Telegram that 'it has not been possible to extinguish the fire' at the synagogue in Derbent. 

He added: 'The synagogue in Makhachkala has also been set on fire and burnt down.'

Gorin wrote that in Derbent, firefighters had been told to leave the burning synagogue because of the risk that 'terrorists remained inside'.

It is not currently know how many people were involved in the shootings, nor is it known who is behind them, according to Dagestan's governor, Sergei Melikov, who said on Telegram: 

The attacks on the religious sites across Dagestan come just months after a deadly terrorist attack in Moscow

Russia's Investigative Committee has already said it is probing them as 'acts of terror.'

'Tonight in Derbent and Makhachkala, unknown individuals attempted to destabilise the public situation. Dagestan police officers stood in their way. According to preliminary information, there are casualties among them.'

Nor is the motivation behind the attacks known.  

But Russia's Investigative Committee has already said it is probing them as 'acts of terror.' 

Dagestan has undergone a series of anti-Semitic events in the past year, most notable when a mob stormed the airport in Makhachkala to search for Jewish passengers from Israel. 

The attacks on the religious sites across Dagestan come just months after a deadly terrorist attack in Moscow took the lives of nearly 145 people. 

Islamic State Khorasan Provice (ISIS-K), a particularly brutal sect of ISIS, slaughtered innocent concertgoers who went to see the Russian band Picnic at the Crocus City Hall concert venue in March this year. 

After shooting up the venue and setting it alight, 145 people died while 551 people were injured by gunfire or burns.  

More to follow.