Gunmen attack churches, synagogues in Dagestan

MOSCOW, June 24 (AFP/Reuters): Attacks on churches and synagogues in Russia's Dagestan region killed 15 police officers and four civilians, officials said on Monday, stoking fears over Islamist violence in the historically restive North Caucasus.
Sunday's attacks come just three months after Islamic State (IS) group fighters killed more than 140 in a Moscow concert hall, the deadliest attack on Russia for almost 20 years.
Moscow said on Monday it had concluded an "anti-terrorist operation" and killed five of the assailants behind the coordinated attacks in the cities of Makhachkala and Derbent.
Russia has been a target for attacks in recent years by IS, which opposes Moscow's military support for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and claims to have set-up a "franchise" in Russia's North Caucasus.
Gunmen with automatic weapons burst into an Orthodox church and a synagogue in the ancient city of Derbent on Sunday evening, setting fire to an icon at the church and killing a 66-year-old Orthodox priest, Nikolai Kotelnikov.
In the Caspian city of Makhachkala, About 125 km (75 miles) north, attackers shot at a traffic police post and attacked a church.
Gun battles erupted around the Assumption Cathedral in Makhachkala and heavy automatic gunfire rang out late into the night. Footage showed residents running through the city to seek cover as plumes of smoke rose above Makhachkala.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Russia's investigative committee said 15 policemen and four civilians were killed. At least five attackers were killed, some were shown by local media shot dead on a pavement.
"This is a day of tragedy for Dagestan and the whole country," said Sergei Melikov, the head of the Dagestan region. He said that foreign forces had been involved in preparing the attack, but gave no details. "This is an attempt to cleave apart our unity."
Dagestan announced three days of mourning. Pictures of the dead policemen were lined up on the street before red carnations in Dagestan. President Vladimir Putin, who has long accused the West of trying to  stoke separatism in the Caucasus, has yet to comment.
Dagestan is a mainly Muslim republic of Russia's North Caucasus, a patchwork of ethnic groups, languages and regions that live in the shadow of the Caucasus mountains between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.
The attack on Christian and Jewish places of worship stoked fears Russia may be facing a renewed militant Islamist threat just three months after a deadly attack in Moscow.
In the Moscow attack, 145 people were killed at the Crocus concert hall. Islamic State claimed that attack.
In October, after the war in Gaza broke out, rioters waving Palestinian flags broke down glass doors and rampaged through Makhachkala airport to look for Jewish passengers on a flight arriving from Tel Aviv.
In Israel, the foreign ministry said the synagogue in Derbent had been burned to the ground and shots had been fired at a second synagogue in Makhachkala. The statement said it was believed there were no worshippers in the synagogue at the time.
Derbent, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth, is home to an ancient Jewish community and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Russia's state media cited law enforcement as saying two sons of the head of central Dagestan's Sergokala district were among the attackers in Dagestan and had been detained by investigators.