Russian snipers kill hostage-takers and end prison siege

HISTORY: :: Russian National Guard

Russian authorities said on Friday that the security service had shot dead four prisoners who had taken hostages in a penal camp in the Volgograd region.

In videos published on the Internet, they described themselves as militant fighters of the Islamic State.

Four prison staff were fatally stabbed during the siege, and others had to be hospitalized.

A total of eight prison employees and four inmates were held hostage, the Federal Prison Service said.

A video shows victims lying in pools of blood, one of whom had his throat slit.

In another image, the attackers were seen pacing in the courtyard of a prison, where one of their hostages sat slumped over, his face covered in blood.

It was unclear how the men got hold of the knives and mobile phones with which they filmed themselves and posted the videos on the Internet.

There has been a recent increase in attacks by militant Islamists in Russia, raising security questions.

:: Russian National Guard

:: 16 June 2024

In June, six inmates who had taken hostages during an Islamic State-linked prison riot in the Rostov region were shot dead.

:: March 24, 2024

And in March, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack in which gunmen raided the Crocus City concert hall near Moscow, killing more than 140 people.