Hostages taken

Islamists murdered guards in Russian camp

A penal camp in Russia

(Bild: AFP)

Prisoners have taken guards hostage in a Russian penal camp and killed three of them. The incident took place during a meeting of a disciplinary commission, the camp administration in the Volgograd region announced on Friday.

One attacker stated that they were fighters from the terrorist organization Islamic State. They had taken control of the Russian camp, he said. A video shows guards lying in pools of blood. One man appears to have had his throat cut. Another man sits upright at a door, an attacker holds a knife to his neck. Other footage shows a prison employee with his face covered in blood and his hands tied behind his back.

Here you can see reports on the incident on X.

Several dead and injured
"While a disciplinary commission was meeting, convicts took guards hostage," the camp administration announced on Friday. Three of them were killed. Four other people - three guards and one prisoner - were injured in the incident. They suffered stab wounds and cuts. Two people's lives are still in danger.

The hostage-takers' demands were initially unclear. One man said that they were acting without mercy. The action was a response to the mistreatment of Muslim prisoners in the camp. According to media reports, the attackers come from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

Russian security forces were finally able to end the hostage-taking on the same day. The prison camp was stormed and the four hostage-takers were killed by snipers. All hostages were freed during the operation, it was reported.

Attacks in Russia on the rise
Russia's security and intelligence services are currently focusing primarily on the war in Ukraine. Recently, there has been an increasing number of attacks with an Islamist background in the country. In March, for example, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the massacre at a concert hall in Moscow. At least 140 people were killed.

The penal colony in question is located in the city of Surovikino. Around 1,200 men are imprisoned there.