On 18 February 2018, a 22-year-old man local to the Russia’s southern republic of
Dagestan carrying a knife and a
double-barreled shotgun opened fire on a crowd at an Orthodox church in
Kizlyar
Kizlyar (russian: Кизля́р; av, Гъизляр; kum, Къызлар, ''Qızlar'') is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located on the border with the Chechen Republic in the river delta ...
, killing five women and injuring several other people, including two police and three others.
He was shot and killed by police on duty nearby.
The attack occurred as churchgoers celebrated the
Sunday of Forgiveness, the last day of
Cheesefare week, a Christian holiday marking the last day before
Lent
Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
according to the eastern Orthodox calendar.
The
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
(ISIL) named the man Khalil al-Dagestani, one of its soldiers. Police named him Khalil Khalilov.
Pro-ISIL social media later shared a video of a masked man with a shotgun and knife, said to be the killer, pledging his allegiance to
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ( ar, أبو بكر البغدادي, ʾAbū Bakr al-Baḡdādī; born Ibrahim Awad Ibrahim Ali Muhammad al-Badri al-Samarrai ( ar, إبراهيم عواد إبراهيم علي محمد البدري السامرائي, ʾIb ...
.
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kizlyar shooting
2018 mass shootings in Europe
21st-century mass murder in Russia
Attacks on churches in Europe
February 2018 crimes in Europe
February 2018 events in Russia
History of Dagestan
ISIL terrorist incidents
Islamic terrorist incidents in 2018
Islamist attacks on churches
Mass murder in 2018
Mass shootings in Russia
Islamic terrorism in Russia
Terrorist incidents in Russia in 2018
Attacks on buildings and structures in Russia