Photo: Screenshot of Xinhua video

After a series of deadly attacks took place in Russia's Republic of Dagestan on Sunday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday that China opposes all forms of terrorism and condemns violence and attacks against civilians and law enforcement personnel. Some Chinese experts noted that the attacks may be related to external reasons including Russia's conflict with Ukraine and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, or may be due to internal divisions and terrorist forces within Russia.

A series of attacks in southern Russia's Republic of Dagestan left at least 15 police officers dead and also resulted in several civilian casualties, RIA Novosti reported on Monday, citing local authorities. The shootings occurred on Sunday at two orthodox churches, a synagogue and a traffic police post in the coastal city of Derbent and Dagestan's capital city of Makhachkala, said the report.

"This is a day of tragedy for Dagestan and the whole country," Sergei Melikov, head of the Republic of Dagestan, said in a video posted early on Monday, according to Reuters. Melikov also said in the video statement that the situation in the region was under the control of law enforcement and local authorities, and vowed that the investigation into the attacks will continue, Le Monde reported.

Mao Ning, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said at Monday's regular press conference that China opposes all forms of terrorism and condemns violence and attacks against civilians and law enforcement personnel. "We deeply mourn for the lives lost and extend heartfelt sympathies to the injured and the bereaved families," Mao said.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, CNN reported.

Cui Hongjian, a professor with the Academy of Regional and Global Governance with Beijing Foreign Studies University, told the Global Times on Monday that the terrorist attacks in Dagestan may be related to two possible factors. First, it cannot be ruled out that the attacks may have some connection with Russia's conflict with Ukraine, Cui said.

The expert noted that another possible reason is that there have long been some so-called separatist forces within Russia, who express their political demands through various means.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, Dagestan, located in the North Caucasus, is one of the country's most linguistically and ethnically diverse regions. Cui added that the multi-ethnic character of this region may actually cause it to become a breeding ground for some separatist issues.

Ethnic and religious issues in Russia's domestic politics are considered a serious problem within the country. Against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a significant portion of the Russian government's attention is now focused on the Ukraine issue. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that there may be some separatist forces within Russia taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble, Cui said.

Given the location of the terrorist attacks and the targets, including churches and a police post, there is a possibility that the attacks are related to a terrorist organization known as the Caucasus Emirate, which exists in the North Caucasus, Li Wei, a researcher and security expert at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times on Monday.

Some major terrorist attacks in Russian history have been closely linked to this terrorist force from the North Caucasus, Li said, noting that this latest terrorist attack is likely a manifestation of the domestic terrorist threat facing Russia.

Li also said that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict more or less has a certain impact on this terrorist attack, as it has long been the root cause of some international conflicts. Some extremist and terrorist forces are taking advantage of the conflict to carry out their terrorist activities, so this has some impact on global terrorist activities as a whole, especially for those carried out under the guise of religion, Li noted.

The attacks in Dagestan were not the only attack Russia suffered on Sunday. According to another Reuters report, Russia said on Sunday that the US was responsible for a Ukrainian attack on the Crimean Peninsula after five US-supplied missiles killed four people, including two children, and injured 151 more.

Analysts said that Russia needs to avoid finding itself in a situation where it is surrounded by internal and external conflicts, and should use different methods to manage those conflicts in order to prevent them from becoming a concentrated outbreak, as this could potentially be exploited by the West.

The overall political situation in Russia is relatively stable, and Russian President Vladimir Putin currently enjoys high public support, which may be one of his greatest assets, Cui said. However, Russia still needs to take the initiative in handling internal and external conflicts, and cannot afford to delay, whether it is the conflict with Ukraine or addressing internal divisions, he said.