Prisoners shot dead

Prisoners take hostages in Russian prison

On Sunday, prisoners took two employees hostage in a remand prison in southern Russia. Special forces were able to free them and kill the hostage-takers, according to the authorities.

A special operation was carried out, the prison authorities announced. "The criminals were eliminated." The employees who had been taken hostage had been freed and were unharmed. In video recordings on Russian Telegram channels, massive machine gun fire could be heard.

Hostage-takers supporters of the IS
In Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, six prisoners had previously taken two guards hostage in an escape attempt. In a video distributed on Sunday, a hostage-taker was seen describing himself and his comrades-in-arms as supporters of the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia.

The state-affiliated Russian news agency RIA and the state agency TASS reported, citing insiders, that the hostage-takers were accused of terrorism.

The escape attempt is said to have begun on Sunday morning. According to the report, the prisoners destroyed the barred window of their cell block and entered the on-call rooms. There they are said to have kidnapped the head of operations, among others.

Prisoners demanded an escape vehicle
The men were armed with knives and other sharpened objects, it was said. They had demanded firearms, an escape vehicle and a free escort for the release of the hostages.

According to the authorities, the prisoner escape was limited. In other sectors of the prison, surveillance of the inmates continued. The police have cordoned off traffic in the area around the prison. It is being investigated whether the escape was coordinated from outside.