The Islamic State group has claimed it was behind a deadly shooting at an ancient citadel in Russia’s volatile North Caucasus region of Dagestan, an area increasingly becoming a hotbed of extremism.
Tuesday night’s attack near the historic citadel of Derbent, which left one person dead and 11 injured, is the second claimed by IS in the Russian Caucasus since September, according to local news portal Caucasian Knot.
The Russian authorities are battling to prevent residents from joining up with the brutal jihadist group in Iraq and in Syria, where Moscow has been waging air strikes over the past two months.
“With the help of Allah, the warriors of the caliphate were able to attack a group of Russian special service officers in the city of Derbent in southern Dagestan, killing one officer and injuring the others,” the jihadist-monitoring SITE Intelligence Group quoted IS as saying on Wednesday.
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