Prisoners take hostages in Russian prison, second incident since June

The attacks came after IS fighters killed 145 people in Moscow in March. (Symbolic image)

Moscow:

Russian prisoners took staff hostage at a penal camp in the southern Volgograd region on Friday, officials said, the second such incident in a Russian prison since June.

“Prisoners have taken employees of the correctional facility (IK-19) hostage. Measures are currently being taken to free the hostages. There are casualties,” the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service said in a statement.

The Russian Investigative Committee stated that “several prisoners” were involved in the incident.

Videos posted on Russian social media appeared to show four prison guards taken hostage, some of them covered in blood.

AFP could not verify these images.

The IK-19 penal colony is located in the town of Surovikino, about 850 kilometers south of Moscow.

The incident occurred during a meeting of the prison's disciplinary commission, the Federal Penitentiary Service added.

In June, prisoners allied with the terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS) besieged a prison in the southern Rostov region.

Russian special forces managed to kill the hostage takers and free the guards after hours of fighting.

Authorities did not provide any further information about Friday's incidents, the identity of the hostage takers or their demands.

The attacks came after IS militants killed 145 people in a Moscow concert hall in March. It was the most devastating terrorist attack in Russia in two decades.

IS has repeatedly said it wants to target Russia because of its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is waging a military campaign against the group in the Middle East.

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