Gunman opens fire in Russian church, kills five worshippers

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Five women were shot dead in an apparent radical Islamist attack on an Orthodox church in the North Caucasus region of Dagestan on Sunday, officials and local media said. According to local press reports, an unidentified gunman fired at worshippers at an Orthodox church in the town of Kizlyar in the mainly Muslim region. "An unknown man opened fire with a hunting rifle in Kizlyar, fatally wounding four women," the regional internal affairs ministry said.

A fifth woman died of her injuries in hospital, health ministry spokeswoman Zalina Mourtazalieva told TASS news agency. Two Russian police officers were injured in the attack. The attacker was "eliminated" by police fire, the regional internal affairs ministry added. As per a local official, the assailant was a local man in his early 20s.

The Russian RBK daily quoted a priest saying the attacker had opened fire on churchgoers following a service. "We had finished the mass and were beginning to leave. A bearded man ran towards the church shouting Allahu Akbar and killed worshippers," Father Pavel told RBK.

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