Gunman opens fire on tourists at historic fortress in Russia’s Dagestan
Eleven people injured and one killed
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 30 December, 2015, 4:38pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 30 December, 2015, 4:38pm
Reuters in Moscow
Members of Russia’s special forces stand guard during an operation on suspected militants on the outskirts of Makhachkala, the capital of Russia’s North Caucasus Republic of Dagestan. Photo: Reuters
A gunman opened fire on a group of tourists visiting a historic fortress in Dagestan in southern Russia on Tuesday evening, killing one and injuring eleven, an official in the region’s health ministry said on Wednesday.
“As a result of a gun attack 12 people were hurt, one of whom died,” the RIA Novosti news agency quoted the official as saying. The wounded, four of whom were in a serious condition, were getting medical treatment, the official said.
The Interfax news agency reported that the tourists were local residents who were visiting a viewing platform at the fortress in Derbent when an unidentified gunman opened fire from a nearby forest. The visitors included two border guards, one of whom was killed in the attack, Interfax reported.
A search for the attacker is now underway. Local police declined to comment to Reuters.
Gun and bomb attacks are common in Dagestan, a mostly-Muslim internal republic in Russia’s troubled North Caucasus region, where Moscow has been fighting Islamist insurgents for years. However, attacks targeting tourists in the region are unusual.
