Police officers were seen on a cordoned-off street in Makhachkala, the capital of Russia’s Republic of Dagestan, where unknown gunmen opened fire on a traffic police post on Sunday.

Footage shows the security services guarding the scene of the shootout, as local residents walk through nearby streets.

On Sunday evening, Dagestan's Interior Ministry reported that unknown gunmen had attacked a synagogue and an Orthodox church in Derbent. It was later reported that a traffic police post in Makhachkala had come under fire, and a firefight had broken out on the city streets.

At the time of publication, the ministry claimed that six police officers were killed and 12 wounded in the attacks.

The Chair of the Public Supervisory Commission for Dagestan Shamil Khadulaev stated that clergyman Father Nikolai was killed in the attack in a church in Derbent, while a security guard was shot in a cathedral in Makhachkala.

The Russian Investigative Committee for the Republic of Dagestan has opened criminal cases into the attacks as possible 'terrorist acts'.

According to the National Anti-Terrorist Committee, a counter-terrorism regime has been introduced in Makhachkala and Derbent, with actions being taken to locate and neutralise the gunmen.

Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov described the incident in his Telegram channel as 'a despicable provocation and an attempt to bring discord between religions'.