Worshipers knifed in central Moscow synagogue

A man armed with a knife stabbed and wounded 11 people, including three Israelis, in a synagogue in downtown Moscow on Wednesday.

A spokesman for the Jewish community in Russia said that four of the wounded were seriously injured in the attack, which occurred around 5:30 P.M. (1430 GMT). The spokesman said that the wounded were taken to hospital, and that some of them were undergoing surgery.

Polyakova Synagogue Rabbi Yitzhak Kogen, who is also an Israeli citizen, was among the injured.

Moscow police arrested a man identified as Alexander Koftzev, suspected of carrying out the attack. He was reported to be in his 20s from Moscow. Moscow authorities said the incident appeared to be anti-Semitic, but that other motives were also being investigated.

An initial investigation reveals that a skinhead wearing a leather jacket told the guards at the entrance to the synagogue that "I will kill people. I will kill Jews," before bursting into the synagogue.

A secretary at the synagogue who gave her first name as Tatyana said she heard people screaming as the man stabbed them, but the man himself did not appear to say anything.


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