Two militants have been eliminated in Russia's Dagestan, the security forces' work continues, and the republic's Interior Ministry said following reports of shootings in the region's cities of Derbent and Makhachkala.
Earlier, the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that unknown persons fired automatic weapons at a synagogue and a church in Derbent. According to preliminary information, one police officer was killed and another was injured as a result of the shooting, the report says.
The deputy chairman of the public monitoring commission of Dagestan also said that a priest at a church was killed.
In a separate development in Makhachkala, Dagestan's capital, unknown persons opened fire on a traffic police post in the street, the ministry stated.
One police officer was killed and six were wounded, the body said. There were no casualties among the civilian population, according to preliminary data.
The attack on the Orthodox temple and synagogue is an attempt to destabilize interethnic and interfaith peace and harmony within Russia, Deputy Speaker of the country's State Duma Boris Chernyshov said.
"The motives and goal are clear. This is a terrorist, inhumane act," the lawmaker stressed.
A security guard at the church in Makhachkala was also killed, said the deputy chairman of the public monitoring commission of Russia's Republic of Dagestan.
Moreover, in a separate development in the Gagra region of the Caucasian republic of Abkhazia, in close proximity to the Russian-Abkhaz border, one person was killed and three were injured in a shooting, Russian media reported, citing local authorities. It is yet to be known if the incident is connected to the events in Dagestan.