IS claims responsibility for attack in Russia’s Dagestan

MOSCOW – The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack in Russia’s Dagestan that killed one police officer and wounded another.

Russian authorities reported on Monday that two men armed with knives attacked three police officers in the Caspian Sea town of Kaspiysk. The men killed one of the officers and wounded another before the third officer shot the assailants to death.

A statement released by the IS-affiliated news agency Aamaq on Tuesday described the attackers in Kaspiysk as “soldiers of the Islamic State.”

Police in Kaspiysk said they found a flag bearing IS symbols at the site of the attack.

Dagestan is a predominantly Muslim region between Chechnya and the Caspian Sea. It has been a breeding ground for Islamic militants who mount regular attacks on police and officials.