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.

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.

[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.