The Russian Investigative Committee reported that 19 people, including 15 police officers and 4 civilians, were killed in armed attacks on June 23 in the cities of Makhachkala and Derbent in the Dagestan region. The Committee also shared that two of three terrorists involved in the attack are sons and the other is nephew of the head of the Sergekola region in Dagestan. Five terrorists were neutralized in operations following the terrorist attacks on an Orthodox church, two synagogues, and a traffic police checkpoint.
We received the views of Russian political scientist Dr. Kamran Gasanov, Russian/Syrian journalist Abbas Juma and UWI author, Vatan Party’s Russian representative historian and political scientist Dr. Mehmet Perinçek on the attack.
In continuation with the terrorist attack in Moscow, Crocus
Mehmet Perinçek firstly presents a framework to understand such terrorist acts:
“Recall a direct Ukrainian trace was found in the terrorist attack in Moscow, Crocus. We may not be able to see with our current information whether there is a direct Ukrainian trace in this attack too, but regardless, former US President Donald Trump stated that ISIS was established by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. When you look at ISIS’s actions and attacks, you can easily see that they always attack “obstacles” in front of the Atlantic front and those who are targeted by the US. ISIS has no actions against the US, Israel or the Atlantic front in general. Radical Islamist terrorist organizations continuously target Türkiye, Syria, Iran, the Taliban in Afghanistan and Russia.”
To prevent Russia from a new offensive
On the concrete aim of the attack, Perinçek notes that Ukraine’s counterattack failed, and that Russia was preparing for a new offensive:
“The aim of this terrorist attack is to prevent Russia from a new offensive. Because Ukraine’s counterattack failed, and with summer, it is expected that Russia will initiate a new offensive. So, we can say that the aim is to distract Russia, create chaos within, install fear, and thus reduce public support for the Special Military Operation, and especially to reduce the support of Muslim communities.”
Recent international successes of Russia
Mehmet Perinçek also emphasises the “recent gains of Russia against the collective West”.
“Russia has recently gained significant advantages against the collective West internationally. BRICS countries take their own stances different from that of the West on the Ukraine issue, and some have even aligned with Russia. China did not attend the recent Ukraine Peace Summit in Geneva. BRICS countries did not sign the declaration of the Summit. When you consider all these countries together, they form the majority of the world’s economy and population, making them the most important countries in this context.
With Putin’s recent international visits, military agreements with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, nuclear agreements with Vietnam and other international or diplomatic engagements Russia has obtained a very advantageous position. This, of course, caused discomfort to the West and Atlantic front.”
“Radical Islam supported from abroad”
Political scientist Kamran Gasanov thinks that there are two reasons for the terrorist attack:
“Firstly, unfortunately, there is a breeding ground for radical ideas among the Muslim community in Russia. Some young people take religion too seriously and cannot integrate into modern society. Instead of education and employment, they turn to simple radical propaganda slogans.
The second reason is that this environment is exploited by extremist preachers aiming to create discord within Russian society and destroy Russia. Clearly, these individuals are supported from abroad.”
“ISIS trying to prove it is alive”
Gasanov says that “The organization has lost in the Middle East, the Maghreb and Afghanistan and is trying to take revenge in Russia.” He notes that Moscow is “preoccupied with the Ukraine operation and may face security gaps. And ISIS is taking advantage of this. The terrorist attack at Crocus City, the attack on the detention center in Rostov and now the attack in Dagestan are links in the same chain. ISIS is trying to increase its prestige and prove it is still alive”.
Also, Gasanov recalls that Russian security units pointed to a connection between the terrorist attack in Moscow and Ukraine and England.
“The aim is to create chaos within the army”
Russian/Syrian journalist Abbas Juma says the main reason behind the terrorist attack is that many powers in the world want to destabilize Russia and distract it from its strategic goals:
“Russia is a multi-religious country. Since many Muslims serve in the army and participate in operations in Ukraine, it is certain that harming relations between Muslims and Christians would mean harming the army in the special military operation. They decided to use terrorists like ISIS for this, firstly in Crocus City Hall, then in Rostov and now in Dagestan.”
Possible links with Ukrainian and foreign intelligence
About the possible links between the attackers and Ukrainian or foreign intelligence agencies, Juma says: “I am sure there is a connection. The US evacuated ISIS leaders from Deir ez-Zor in Syria with military helicopters seven years ago. It then became clear that the Americans were in no hurry to leave the valuable personnel they had invested so much in. The semi-state established by ISIS no longer exists, but their ideas can still cause a lot of problems. The ISIS-SBU (Ukrainian intelligence service) combination would work against Russia. For example, in Dagestan, terrorists used foreign weapons. The terrorists in the Crocus attack also tried to escape to Ukrainian territory after the attack.”