Dagestan: Questions remain unanswered as Russia blames West for deadly attacks without evidence
There is a lot we still don’t know about the attacks in Dagestan.
It’s not clear who the gunmen were or what their wider affiliation might be. There has been no immediate claim of responsibility.
There are also questions over how many assailants there were and how many people died in total.
But despite that uncertainty, conclusions are being made, some more surprising than others.
According to the local member of Russia’s parliament, Abdulkhakim Gadzhiyev, there is “no doubt” the attacks are connected to “the intelligence services of Ukraine and NATO countries”.
Really? There doesn’t seem to be any evidence.
But it’s not the first time a domestic attack has prompted claims of Western and Ukrainian involvement.
Remember the deadly assault on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall concert venue in March? It was Russia’s deadliest terror attack in two decades.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility, but that didn’t stop authorities blaming Kyiv.
Before we take that further, let’s rewind and establish what we do know about what happened on Sunday.
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Moment gunmen exchange fire with police
The attacks appear to have been coordinated. A synagogue and an Orthodox church in Derbent were seemingly the targets.
The historic city claims to be Russia’s oldest. It’s home to an ancient Jewish community as well as a UNESCO world heritage site.
The wider region of Dagestan is predominantly Muslim, and is no stranger to Islamist violence.
A homegrown insurgency staged multiple attacks across the North Caucasus over the last two decades, following Russia’s wars in Chechnya.
In 2017, the FSB said it had defeated the insurgency and since then, attacks have become less frequent.
But the Crocus City attack was a reminder that Russia’s Islamist threat hasn’t gone away.
Read more:
Gunmen open fire on synagogue and church
Moment gunmen exchange fire with police
And there was the disturbing moment in October, shortly after the start of the war in Gaza, when a rampaging mob stormed Dagestan’s main airport on the hunt for Jewish passengers arriving on a flight from Tel Aviv.
There’s plenty of speculation this attack may be in the same vein.
State news outlets have been reporting the gunmen were followers of “an international terrorist organisation”, citing law enforcement agencies.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War has suggested it is likely the work of Islamic State’s Northern Caucasus branch, Wilayat Kavkaz, but there is no confirmation of that.
Despite all this, though, it hasn’t stopped some, like the local Duma deputy, claiming Western involvement.
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Leonid Slutsky, who heads the Duma committee on international affairs, is another.
“The United States and its European satellites… have turned into outright sponsors of state terrorism,” he said on Telegram, adding the blood of the victims is “on their hands”.
Don’t be surprised if there are more.
It fits the Russian authorities’ wider narrative that the country is under attack by Ukraine and the West.
That is the reason, Russians are told, for going to war with Kyiv. Linking attacks like this helps to reinforce it.
“Super high-IQ revolutionaries” who are willing to work 80+ hours a week are being urged to join Elon Musk’s new cost-cutting department in Donald Trump’s incoming US government.
The X and Tesla owner will co-lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
And in a post on X, the official DOGE account put out a call to arms for people to sign up and help “dismantle government bureaucracy”.
The post said: “We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE.
“We don’t need more part-time idea generators.
“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.
“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”
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Elon Musk speaking at an event held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
In a reply to an interested party, Mr Musk suggested the lucky applicants would be working for free.
“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lost of enemies & compensation is zero,” the world’s richest man wrote.
“What a great deal!”
When announcing the new department, President-elect Donald Trump said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.
Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cuts to “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough.”
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
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The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
Read more from Sky News:
Mass displacement in Gaza – people unsure where to go
Donald Trump picks vaccine sceptic as health secretary
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
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