Armed militants attack churches, synagogue and police post in ...

More than 15 policemen and several civilians, including an Orthodox priest, were killed by armed militants in Russia’s southern republic of Dagestan, its governor Sergei Melikov said in a video statement early this morning.

The gunmen opened fire on two Orthodox churches, a synagogue and a police post in two cities, according to the authorities.

Russia's National Anti-Terrorist Committee described the attacks in the predominantly Muslim region with a history of armed militancy as terrorist acts.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were declared days of mourning in the region.

Dagestan's Interior Ministry said a group of armed men shot at a synagogue and a church in the city of Derbent, located on the Caspian Sea. Both the church and the synagogue caught fire, according to state media. Almost simultaneously, reports appeared about an attack on a church and a traffic police post in the Dagestan capital, Makhachkala.

The authorities announced a counter-terrorist operation in the region. The Anti-Terrorist Committee said five gunmen were "eliminated". The governor said six "bandits" had been "liquidated". The conflicting numbers couldn't be immediately reconciled and it wasn't clear how many militants were involved in the attacks.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks. The authorities launched a criminal probe on the charge of a terrorist act.

Russian state news agency Tass cited law enforcement sources as saying that a Dagestani official was detained over his sons' involvement in the attacks.