In a shocking incident in the southernmost province of Dagestan, Russia, a synagogue and a church were targeted by gunmen on Sunday evening, resulting in the deaths of a priest and a policeman. The coordinated attack has left the community in a state of shock and authorities scrambling to determine the identities of the assailants.

The attack took place in the city of Derbent, where armed gunmen armed with automatic weapons stormed both the synagogue and the church. According to the Dagestan Public Monitoring Commission Chairman, Shamil Khadulaev, a 66-year-old priest named Father Nikolay was killed in the church, with his throat slit by the assailants. Additionally, a security guard armed with only a pistol was shot.

The situation in the church remains tense as additional priests have locked themselves inside and are awaiting assistance. Meanwhile, the synagogue has been engulfed in flames, with thick smoke billowing out from several windows on at least one floor. Firefighters are working to bring the blaze under control.

Preliminary reports from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Dagestan indicate that at least one police officer was killed and another injured in the attacks on the church and synagogue. The exact number of casualties is yet to be confirmed as officials are working to gather more information.

In a related incident that happened around the same time, a police traffic post in the nearby city of Makhachkala also came under fire, leaving at least one police officer injured. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is investigating the incidents and attempting to establish the identities of the attackers.

Dagestan Republic's head, Sergey Melikov, has issued a message on Telegram, denouncing the attempt to destabilize the social situation. He assured the public that law enforcement agencies are actively working on establishing the identities of the attackers and have set up an operational headquarters to launch a counteroperation named "Interception."

Authorities have urged the public to remain calm and not succumb to panic and fear, as this is likely what the attackers had anticipated. The Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Republic of Dagestan has initiated a terror investigation under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to establish all the circumstances of the incident and identify those responsible.

As this is a developing story, more updates are expected in the coming hours.