MOSCOW (AP) — On Friday, Russian National Guard snipers killed four inmates who had taken prison guards hostage and declared their allegiance to the Islamic State group, according to Russian media reports.
The National Guard Service confirmed that the inmates were “neutralized” and all hostages were rescued, although the exact number of hostages was not immediately disclosed.
Details on the incident at the Surovkino prison, located 860 kilometers (535 miles) southeast of Moscow, are limited. It remains unclear how the inmates managed to take hostages several hours prior to the standoff.
Before the inmates were shot, state news agency Tass reported that four victims were hospitalized, with two in serious condition. Unconfirmed reports on Telegram suggested that one or two people may have died.
A video posted by Russian news site Meduza purportedly shows the scene, with inmates wielding knives inside the prison and in the yard, and several individuals in what appeared to be guard uniforms lying on the ground in blood. The alleged attackers expressed support for the Islamic State group and the suspects arrested for the March terrorist attack on a Moscow concert hall, which resulted in 145 deaths. An IS affiliate claimed responsibility for that attack, in which gunmen killed patrons and set the building on fire.Tass reported that the hostage-takers were from former Soviet Central Asian countries; similarly, the suspects in the concert hall attack were from Tajikistan.