AT LEAST 20 people have died following attacks by suspected Islamist militants on houses of worship in co-ordinated actions in two cities in Russia’s southern region of Dagestan.

The first of three days of mourning began yesterday as the death count rose following the rampage in the regional capital of Makhachkala and nearby Derbent on Sunday evening.

Although there was no immediate claim of responsibility, the attack was the latest blamed on Islamist extremists in the predominantly Muslim region in the North Caucasus, and the deadliest in Russia since March when gunmen opened fire at a concert in suburban Moscow.