This incident in Volgograd comes after a hostage situation in the Russian prison of Rostov-on-Don in June. The kidnappers have been linked to the Islamic State terrorist group.
A group of prisoners took hostages on Friday in penal colony No. 19 in the Volgograd region, in the southern russiaand killed at least one member of staff, as reported by the country’s prison administration.
“During a session of a disciplinary commission, inmates took prison staff hostage,” the prison administration said in a statement. “They are currently taking measures to free the hostages. There are injured“The authorities have not yet specified the exact number of attackers, hostages and victims, and the data circulating on various Telegram channels differ greatly.
The colony is located in the town of Surovikino, 130 kilometers west of Volgograd, it is a strict regime colony. An explicit, unauthenticated video circulating on several Russian Telegram channels shows at least three kidnappers brandishing knives and standing over what appear to be injured or dead prison guards, lying in a pool of blood.
One of the kidnappers states in the video that the group is affiliated with Islamic State (Daesh). According to several channels (Baza, Mash, Shot, the latter supposedly linked to the Russian security forces), the attackers demanded a helicopter and two million dollars. Russian media reported that the country’s security services were preparing to storm the building.
Several Islamist attacks: Are they testing law enforcement forces undermined by the war in Ukraine and internal repression?
As the media points out, Russia has recently suffered a series of terrorist attacksIslamistsraising the question of whether its vast security agencies have been distracted by the invasion of ukraine and internal repression against anti-war dissidence.
An Afghan regional branch of the Islamic State claimed responsibility for a mass shooting at a concert hall near Moscow, the deadliest terrorist attack in the country in years, which left at least 145 muertos and 551 injured.
In June, a synagogue was attacked in the city of Derbent and an Orthodox church in Makhatchkala, Dagestan (North Caucasus). At least 19 people died, including an Orthodox priest and 15 police officers, according to authorities, who denounced these events as “terrorist acts.”
And finally, raising new questions about security measures in Russian prisons, security forces had to storm a detention center in southern Russiaalso in June, killing six inmates who had taken two staff members hostage. Among the inmates were men accused of having ties to the Islamic State group.
Additional sources • BBC, Meduza, The Guardian, Le Figaro
