The incident, near Volgograd (centre), follows a hostage-taking in a prison in Rostov-on-Don (south) in June. The hostage-takers have also been linked to the Islamic State terrorist group.
The Rosgvardiya (Russian National Guard) said that special forces killed four prisoners of the IK-19 penal colony in the town of Surovikino in the central Volgograd region during an assault on the afternoon of August 23, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.
“Snipers of the special units of the Rosgvardiya special forces in the Volgograd region neutralized four prisoners who had taken the colony staff hostage with four accurate shots. The hostages were released,” the agency said.
Four peopleincluding three employees of the colony, were killed during a hostage situationthe Federal Prison Service reported, adding that four prisoners were also injured by the attackers.
Earlier on Friday, four prisoners of the strict regime colony, who were believed to have links to the terrorist group “Islamic State”, took the colony staff hostage. During the hostage-taking, Meduza notes, the prisoners declared that they were taking revenge “on the Muslim brothers” detained in the case of the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall.
An explicit, unauthenticated video circulating on several Russian Telegram channels showed at least three hostage-takers brandishing knives and standing over what appeared to be wounded or dead prison guards lying in a pool of blood.
One of the hostage-takers stated in the clip that the group is affiliated with the Islamic State (Daesh). According to several channels (Baza, Mash, Shot – the latter reputed to be linked to Russian security forces), the attackers allegedly demanded a helicopter and $2 million.
Series of Islamist attacks: police forces tested by the war in Ukraine and internal repression?
As media reports note, Russia has recently experienced a series of Islamist terrorist attacks, raising questions about whether its vast security agencies have been distracted by the invasion of Ukraine and the internal crackdown on anti-war dissent.
An Afghan regional branch of the Islamic State has claimed responsibility forMass shooting at concert hall near Moscow the deadliest terrorist attack in the country in years, which left at least 145 dead and 551 injured.
In June, A synagogue was attacked in the city of Derbent, while an Orthodox church was targeted by armed men further south, in Makhachkala, in Dagestan (North Caucasus). At least nineteen people were killed, including an Orthodox priest and fifteen police officers, according to the authorities, who denounced “terrorist acts”.
And, finally, reinforcing the questioning about security measures in Russian prisons, Security forces had to storm a detention center in southern Russia, also in Junekilling six inmates who had taken two staff members hostage. The prisoners included men accused of having links to the Islamic State group (Daesh).
Additional sources • BBC, Meduza, The Guardian, Le Figaro