Prison Revolt in Russia Results in Four Employee Deaths as IS Militants Take Hostages

In a remote Russian penal colony in the Volgograd region, four prison employees were killed after a group of prisoners staged a revolt and took hostages. The prisoners, who identified themselves as Islamic State (IS) militants, claimed control over parts of the IK-19 Surovikino facility.

The situation escalated quickly, leading to a special forces operation to free the hostages and neutralize the attackers. Despite these efforts, the operation concluded with the death of four prison employees.

The Russian National Guard, Rosgvardia, played a crucial role in the rescue operation, deploying snipers who shot and killed four of the attackers. Footage of heavily armed troops arriving at the prison circulated on social media, emphasizing the severity of the situation.

The revolt started during a disciplinary meeting at the prison, where the attackers managed to wound several staff members and take multiple hostages, including possibly the prison’s director and deputy director.

The Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) provided details on the attack, stating that eight prison employees and four inmates were initially taken hostage. While some hostages were freed during the operation, the FSIN reported that the attackers only managed to occupy one room in the facility, rather than the entire prison as initially feared.

The attackers were armed with knives and inflicted fatal wounds on four prison staff, three of whom died at the scene and one later in the hospital.

The attackers were identified as men from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, and they released dramatic footage during the revolt, where they declared allegiance to the Islamic State and claimed their actions were in retaliation for the persecution of Muslims.

The video also showed scenes of bloodshed within the prison, with officials lying in pools of blood and the attackers moving freely in the courtyard. Despite the chaos within the prison, authorities assured the public that the incident posed no threat to the surrounding civilian population.

This hostage situation in Volgograd is the second such incident in the region this summer involving prisoners with ties to the Islamic State. In a previous case, six prisoners in the Rostov region also took guards hostage, resulting in the deaths of five attackers.

The recent events at IK-19 have prompted prosecutors to open a case regarding the hostage-taking, as the facility, which holds around 1,200 inmates, returns to a state of heightened security following the deadly revolt.