9 killed, including police officers, as attacks launched on synagogue, Orthodox church in southern Russia: Officials

An apparent coordinated attack Sunday in southern Russia has left at least nine people dead, including seven law enforcement officers, when gunmen wielding automatic weapons opened fire on a synagogue and an Orthodox church in two cities miles apart in the Dagestan region, according to the region’s Ministry of Internal Affairs.

At least 25 people were injured in the two attacks, Russian officials said.

The attack in Derbent, a city on the Caspian Sea, unfolded around 6 p.m. local time, when multiple gunmen unleashed a barrage of automatic weapons on a synagogue and an Orthodox church and set fire to both houses of worship, according to the Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee.

A second attack occurred about 75 miles away in Makhchkala, also on the Caspian Sea, Russian officials said.

Read more: ABC News