In an unverified video posted on social media, a man was shown holding a knife, apparently in a courtyard within the IK-19 Surovikino facility
Russian authorities have stormed a remote prison colony in the southwestern Volgograd region and “neutralised” four people, after prisoners revolted and took several guards hostage.
Special forces were forced to scramble to the IK-19 Surovikino facility after knife-wielding prisoners, who identified themselves as Islamic State (IS) militants, took staff hostage and claimed to have taken control of the sprawling complex.
An unverified image posted on social media appeared to show an inmate holding a knife standing above a bloodied prison guard.
State news agency Tass said a prison service employee was killed.
Russia’s National Guard said snipers shot four prisoners in the rescue operation, while local media reported that all the hostages had been rescued.
In footage posted to Telegram by the National Guard – known as Rosgvardia – heavily armed troops were filmed arriving at the prison.
The attack began during a disciplinary commission meeting, Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service said in a statement.
It was unclear how many hostages had been taken, though some reports in Russian media suggested that the prison’s director and deputy director had been seized.
In dramatic footage, an unverified video showed a man apparently brandishing a knife standing in a prison courtyard. Another clip showed one of the attackers pledging allegiance to IS.
Image source, Rosgvardia
National Guard troops were dispatched to the prison to end the attack
Volgograd regional governor Andrei Bocharov said earlier that the hostage-taking posed “no threat to the civilian population”.
President Vladimir Putin was filmed taking part in a virtual meeting with security chiefs, where he was updated on the situation.
The Volgograd hostage-taking is the second such incident this summer, after six prisoners who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group captured two guards at a facility in the neighbouring Rostov region.
Five prisoners were killed and a sixth sentenced to 20 years in prison following the attack.
Prosecutors said they had opened a case relating to a hostage taking.
IK-19 Surovikino is a high-security penal colony. It is believed to hold about 1,200 inmates.
