Kizlyar church shooting

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, Dagestan, killing five women and injuring several other people, including two police and three others.^[2] He was shot and killed by police on duty nearby.

Kizlyar church shooting
Part of Islamic State insurgency in the North Caucasus, Terrorism in Russia and Islamic terrorism in Europe
Location	Kizlyar, Dagestan, Russia
Coordinates	43.8554°N 46.7142°E / 43.8554; 46.7142
Date	18 February 2018
Attack type	Mass shooting
Weapons	Double-barreled shotgun Knife
Deaths	6 (including the perpetrator)
Injured	4[1]
Perpetrator	Islamic State (IS)
Assailant	Khalil Khalilov

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 according to the eastern Orthodox calendar.^[3]

The Islamic State (IS) named the man Khalil al-Dagestani, one of its soldiers. Police named him Khalil Khalilov.^[4] Pro-IS 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.^[2]

See also

• 2024 Dagestan attacks