Russian authorities reported on Sunday that a prison siege in the southern Rostov region ended with the deaths of the Islamic State hostage-takers and the safe release of their two prison guard captives.
Initially, the prison service disclosed that several Islamic State detainees had taken two guards hostage and were negotiating for their release.
But a short time later it issued a statement saying the siege had ended: “During a special operation…the criminals were liquidated and the employees who were taken hostage were released and were not injured.”
No additional details were provided immediately following the incident at Detention Centre 1 in Rostov.
According to a police source cited by state news agency TASS, the hostage-takers were IS members scheduled to appear in court on terrorism charges.
They were reportedly armed with a pocket knife, a baton, and an axe, and had barricaded themselves in the prison courtyard.
Interfax news agency reported that the six hostage-takers demanded a car and safe passage in exchange for the hostages’ release.
This siege comes nearly three months after a deadly attack near Moscow, where gunmen killed at least 144 people at a concert hall, an attack also claimed by IS. Following the March 22 attack at Crocus City Hall, which left hundreds injured, more than 20 individuals were arrested, including four suspected gunmen from Tajikistan.
Russia has been a frequent target of IS attacks, despite the group’s limited influence in the country. Media speculated that the Rostov attackers might be linked to those arrested in 2022 for planning an attack on the Supreme Court of Karachay-Cherkessia, a Muslim-majority region in the Caucasus.
Official figures indicate that nearly 4,500 Russians, primarily from the Caucasus, joined IS in Iraq and Syria.
In April, Russian forces killed two armed men near Nalchik in the Caucasus, whom authorities identified as members of an international terrorist organization.
