ISIS take management of Russian jail
- *** WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT ***
ISIS fanatic inmates have taken control of a brutal Russian penal colony slashing a guard’s throat and maiming other hostages leaving at least one dead with demands for a helicopter and £1.5million cash.
Horrifying video shows a prisoner holding a knife to the neck of a terrified guard at the ‘harsh regime’ IK-19 penal colony in Volgograd while pictures show others lying on the floor bleeding.
One of the hostage-takers, who appeared to be holding flag affiliated with ISIS, is said to have strapped himself with explosives.
At least four uniformed prison officials can be seen lying or sitting in pools of blood. Three guards of the guards were lying motionless and one appeared to have had his throat cut.
Another was sitting upright in a doorway, where a knifeman was janking him around by his neck.
The hostage-takers reportedly demanded a helicopter with a pilot, £1.5million and an air corridor to the southeast in order to leave the country, with a promise to free the hostages in exchange. They threatened to kill the hostages if their demands weren’t met.
At least five uniformed prison officials were seen lying in pools of blood with a knife-wielding hostage-taker nearby
One prison guard was seen lying on the floor, with blood all over his face and clothes
One of the hostage-takers, who appeared to be holding flag affiliated with ISIS, is said to have strapped himself with explosives
Russian sources say that at least one person was killed and several more injured and feared dead after the inmates, who describe themselves as members of ISIS, launched their attack at a Russian prison – named IK-19 – in the Volgograd region
The perpetrators – believed to three or four – described themselves as ‘Mujahideen of the Islamic State’, and at least one spoke Arabic, as they said they had seized control of the penal colony they were held at.
Russia state media said at least one member of the prison staff had been killed, but the video suggested the death toll was almost certainly higher.
The prison service said in a statement: ‘During a session of a disciplinary commission, convicts took staff of the penal institution as hostages. Measures are currently being taken to free the hostages. There are casualties.’
Four prison staff were hospitalised due to the attack, Volgograd governor Andrey Bocharov said.
‘An operational headquarters has been set up to coordinate the work on releasing the hostages. Law enforcement and security agencies are carrying out operational activities. There is no threat to the civilian population,’ he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the ‘situation’ would be discussed at a regular meeting of the country’s Security Council on Friday.
The prison is designated as a ‘harsh regime’ penal colony with capacity to hold up to 1,241 male prisoners.
Russian special services troops were reported to be at the scene, some 93 miles southwest of Volgograd city.
The head of the IK-19 penal colony, Interior Ministry Colonel Andrei Devyatov, was being held hostage but reports said he was later freed or escaped. He was reportedly beaten with a hammer and a bottle over his head.
One of the victims had his stomach opened with a knife. The attackers tried to cut off the ear of another hostage, named Yuri Mavrin, who was later hospitalised.
Footage shows the hostage-takers brandishing knives in videos shared on social media
The head of the IK-19 penal colony, Interior Ministry Colonel Andrei Devyatov (pictured), was being held hostage but reports said he was later freed or escaped. He was reportedly beaten with a hammer and a bottle over his head
Pictures of the suspected attackers were released by Russian media, naming them as Ramzidin Toshev, top left, Navruzi Rustamchon, top right, Nazirchon Toshov, bottom left, Temur Khusinov, bottom right
A leader from a Volgograd mosque was to be brought to the jail for negotiations with radicals.
Reports said the attackers were ahad bought knives inside the penal colony in exchange for bribes.
Three employees of the jail were left in intensive care after fleeing the horror and prison officer Roman Ponomarev was in an ‘extremely serious condition’. Devyatov was also wounded and is in intensive care.
Another officer, Alexey Lygin, suffered stab wounds to the face, and had a skull fracture. He was in a critical condition. A convict named Alexander Boyko suffered a stab wound to the abdomen.
Other minor news sources claimed that four had been killed, and three wounded, but this was not confirmed.
The names of the suspected terrorists holding hostages were given as Ramzidin Toshev, Rustamchon Navruzi, Nazirchon Toshov, and Temur Khusinov.
Unconfirmed reports said two were reported to be natives of Uzbekistan, and two from Tajikistan.
The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under articles on hostage-taking and prison disruption.
Russia, whose defence and security agencies are heavily focused on its war in Ukraine, has seen a recent upsurge in Islamist militant attacks.
In June, a bloody Islamic State-linked prison uprising took place in the southern region of Rostov, where special forces shot dead six inmates who had taken hostages.
Later that month, at least 20 people were killed in shooting attacks in two cities in Dagestan, a mainly Muslim region of southern Russia.
In March, Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack in which gunmen raided the Crocus City concert hall near Moscow, sprayed the audience with automatic weapons fire and set fire to the building, killing more than 140 people.
