The Dagestan Republic in Russia is temporarily banning the traditional Muslim garment niqab, worn by women and covering most of the face.
The ban is a "security measure" due to a deadly attack on two churches and a synagogue in June, says the region's highest religious authority. At least 20 people were killed in the simultaneous attacks that took place during Orthodox Easter.
Dagestan is a Russian republic on the Caspian Sea with a predominantly Muslim population. Like its neighboring republic Chechnya, it has long been plagued by unrest.
Islamist groups in the area have been waging a long-standing struggle against the government in Moscow.
In April, the Russian security service FSB said it had arrested four people in Dagestan suspected of having planned the deadly attack on a concert hall in Moscow in March. The terrorist group IS claimed responsibility for the attack, in which more than 140 people died.
