Guards held hostage in Russian prison, prisoners shot dead by IS – freed

Several members of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group were shot dead on Sunday after taking two prison officers hostage at a Rostov prison in southern Russia, which has been targeted by repeated attacks. “During a special operation (…) the convicts were disbanded and the staff who were held hostage were freed and were unhurt,” pointed out officials of the facility where the prisoners are awaiting trial. Prisoners in a press release.

Hours earlier, prison authorities indicated that the defendants were holding two guards at Detention Center No. 1 in the Rostov region at the gates of the Russian Caucasus.

According to a police source interviewed by state agency TASS, ISIS members who were to appear in court on “terrorism” charges were among those taken hostage. They were armed with pocket knives, batons and axes in the courtyard of the detention centre, broadcast on X. The attackers, who numbered six, demanded a car and were allowed to leave the detention center in exchange for the release of the hostages, according to the Interfax agency.

Russia has been targeted on several occasions by attacks and attacks allegedly carried out by the jihadist organization. On March 22, gunmen opened fire at a concert hall near Moscow, killing at least 144 people and injuring hundreds. It was quickly claimed by Islamic State affiliate EI-K, It was the worst attack on Russian soil since 2004. More than 20 people have been arrested. 20 people including four suspects have been arrested. All of them are from Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia that neighbors Afghanistan.

According to Russian media, the attackers at the Rostov detention center may be arrested in 2022 and accused of planning an attack against the Supreme Court of the Muslim-majority Russian republic of Karachay-Cherkessia in the Caucasus.

Russia faced an Islamist insurgency in the Caucasus in the early 2000s, a movement that grew out of the first conflict against separatist Chechnya in 1994-96. It was defeated by Russian federal forces and in recent years, armed incidents have become rare. According to official figures, nearly 4,500 Russians have fought alongside IS, particularly in the Caucasus, Iraq and Syria.

In April, two armed militants who were members of an “international terrorist organization” were shot dead by Russian forces near Nalchik in the Caucasus.