5 Killed In Church Shooting In Russia's Dagestan

Five women were killed Sunday when a gunman opened fire at a Russian Orthodox church in the restive Northern Caucasus region of Dagestan.

Russian news sources quoted a priest from the church in Kizlyar in western Dagestan as saying the attacker, described as a local man in his 20s, began firing on churchgoers as they were leaving following Sunday afternoon service.

"A bearded man ran towards the church shouting 'Allah Akbar' and killed four people," Father Pavel said, according to Russian sources quoted by The Guardian. "He was carrying a rifle and a knife."

A fifth person died of wounds at a local hospital. All five victims were women.

The gunman was later identified by Russian media sources as Khalil Khaililov, a 22-year-old resident of Kidero, a town about a hundred miles south of the scene of the attack.

Khaililov was "eliminated" by police gunfire, according to Interfax.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in Dagestan, a Muslim-majority region that has sought independence from Moscow, according to Russia's RBK Daily.

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