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Nineteen dead in attacks on churches and synagogue in southern Russia
Attacks on police posts, churches and a synagogue in Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan have left 19 police officers and several civilians dead. Six gunmen were also killed.
At least sixteen people were taken to hospitals with injuries.
Three days of mourning have been declared in Dagestan, a predominantly Muslim republic in southern Russia which neighbours Chechnya.
The apparently coordinated attacks targeted the cities of Derbent and Makhachkala on the Orthodox festival of Pentecost, with an Orthodox priest among those killed. He was later identified by the head of the Republic of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, as Father Nikolai Kotelnikov, who had served in Derbent for more than 40 years.
Footage posted on social media showed people wearing dark clothes shooting at police cars, before a convoy of emergency service vehicles arrive at the scene.
In Derbent – home to an ancient Jewish community – gunmen attacked a synagogue and a church, which were then set on fire.
Dagestan has in the past been the scene of Islamist attacks.
Although the assailants have not been officially identified, Russian media widely reported that among the gunmen were two sons of the head of the Sergokalinsky district near Makhachkala, Magomed Omarov, Osman and Adil. Mr Omarov was detained by police.
However, in a video posted on Telegram, the republic’s head, Sergei Melikov, implied Ukraine had been involved in the attack and that Dagestan was now directly involved in Russia’s war in Ukraine. “We understand who is behind the organisation of the terrorist attacks and what goal they pursued,” he said.
The head of the Russian State Duma’s international affairs committee, Leonid Slutsky, put forward similar claims, saying that the Dagestan attacks and a missile strike which killed four in Russia-occupied Sevastopol on Sunday “could not be a coincidence”. “These tragic events, I am sure, were orchestrated from abroad and are aimed at sowing panic and dividing the Russian people,” Mr Slutsky said.
But a leading Russian nationalist in occupied Ukraine, Dmitry Rogozin, warned that if every attack was blamed on “the machinations of Ukraine and Nato, this pink mist will lead us to big problems”.
An attack on the Crocus City Hall venue near Moscow in March which left 147 dead was blamed by Russian authorities on Ukraine and the West, even though the Islamic State group claimed it.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s President Vladimir Putin offered his condolences to those who lost loved ones in the attacks on Crimea and Dagestan.
Russian news agencies reported on Monday morning that the counter-terrorism operation launched after the attacks had now come to an end.
Between 2007 and 2017, a jihadist organisation called the Caucasus Emirate, and later the Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus, staged attacks in Dagestan and the neighbouring Russian republics of Chechnya, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria.
Following the Crocus City Hall attack in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin had insisted that “Russia cannot be the target of terrorist attacks by Islamic fundamentalists” because it “demonstrates a unique example of interfaith harmony and inter-religious and inter-ethnic unity”.
However, three months ago Russia’s domestic security service, the FSB, reported that it had thwarted an IS plot to attack a Moscow synagogue.
[BBC]
Kenya’s Agnes Ngetich took a second off the women-only half-marathon world record on Sunday when she won the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, stopping the clock at one hour, five minutes, and 15 seconds.
Ngetich, who also broke the women-only 10km (6.2-mile) world record last year, pushed to the front from the outset on a sunny morning in the Danish capital and led until the end, finishing 50 seconds ahead of compatriot Veronica Loleo, who came in second.
The previous record was set by Peres Jepchirchir, another Kenyan, when she won the World Half Marathon title in Poland in 2020.
The overall women’s half-marathon world record is held by Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey, who clocked 1:02:52 in 2021 at the mixed-gender Valencia Half Marathon in Spain.
Sunday’s win was the latest major title this year for the 25-year-old Ngetich, who also won the team half marathon in Copenhagen and the World Cross Country Championships in Florida in the US in January.
(Aljazeera)
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Flood warning issued to the Divisional Secretariat Divisions of Ganga Ihala Korale, Udapalatha, Doluwa, Udunuwara, Yatinuwara, Gangawata Korale, Harispattuwa, and Pathadumbara
Due to heavy rainfall received in the upper catchment areas of the Mahaweli River over the past few hours, there is a risk of minor flooding in the low-lying areas surrounding the Mahaweli River within the Divisional Secretariat Divisions of Ganga Ihala Korale, Udapalatha, Doluwa, Udunuwara, Yatinuwara, Gangawata Korale, Harispattuwa, and Pathadumbara.Residents living in the above mentioned areas and motorists using roads passing through these areas are urged to exercise extreme caution and remain highly vigilant regarding the prevailing situation.
Furthermore, residents living in close proximity to the Mahaweli River in these areas are advised to remain highly alert to the situation and take all necessary precautions to protect themselves from any potential flooding.The relevant disaster management authorities are requested to take all necessary measures in response to this situation.
The National Building Research Organisation [NBRO] has issued landslide Red Alerts to the districts of Kandy, Kegalle and Nuwara Eliya effective from 14:00 hrs on 20.09.2026 To 14:00 hrs on 21.09.2026
Accordingly,
LEVEL III [RED] Land Slide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Pasbage Korale in the Kandy district, Dehiowita, Aranayake, Deraniyagala, Mawanella and Yatiyanthota in the Kegalle district and Kothmale West, Kotmale East, Ambagamuwa and Norwood in the Nuwara Eliya district
LEVEL II [AMBER] Land Slide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Padukka in the Colombo district, Nagoda, Thawalama and Neluwa in the Galle district, Bulathsinhala, Palindanuwara, Walallawita and Agalawatta in the Kalutara district, Ganga Ihala Korale in the Kandy district, Bulathkohupitiya and Kegalle in the Kegalle district, Akuressa and Pitabeddara in the Matara district, Thalawakele in the Nuwara Eliya district and Pelmadulla, Ratnapura, Ayagama, Kuruwita and Ratnapura in the Ratnapura district.
LEVEL I [YELLOW] Land Slide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Seethawaka in the Colombo district, Niyagama and Baddegama in the Galle district, Mirigama in the Gampaha district, Ingiriya in the Kalutara district, Udapalatha and Yatinuwara in the Kandy district, Galigamuwa, Warakapola and Ruwanwella in the Kegalle district, Kotapola, Pasgoda and Athuraliya in the Matara district, and Eheliyagoda, Kalawana and Elapatha in the Ratnapura district.
Kenya’s Ngetich breaks women-only half-marathon world record by a second
Showers about 100 mm are likely at times in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya Districts
New Constitution to decide fate of executive presidency, PCs: NPP
NBRI issues landslide warning for three districts
Mahaweli rises as heavy rain triggers flood, landslide fears
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