Russian special forces killed inmates suspected to be linked to the Islamic State (IS) group after the prisoners broke out of a cell in a Russian detention center and kidnapped two prison officers, holding them hostage.
Russian forces kill Islamic State-linked hostage takers at detention centre@ShivanChanana tells you more
Watch more at https://t.co/AXC5qRuO3J pic.twitter.com/nqVpOPaLxD— WION (@WIONews) June 17, 2024
The six inmates held two prison officers, one a lieutenant colonel, hostage at knife-point at Detention Center 1 in Rostov-on-Don in the Rostov region, close to the border with Ukrainian areas occupied by the Russian military.
Russian state media said some of the prisoners had been convicted of terrorism charges and were accused of being part of the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on the Crocus City Hall outside Russia’s capital, Moscow, where around 145 people were killed. Five of the six inmates were named A.M Tsitskiev, T. M. Gireev, S.A. Akiev, M.S. Saipudinov, and D. V. Kamneev, while the sixth suspect’s identity was not established.
Russian forces kill ISIS-linked hostage takers at detention centre
(Reuters) -Russian special forces freed two guards and killed several men linked to Islamic State who had taken them hostage at a detention centre in the southern city of Rostov on Sunday, the prison service… pic.twitter.com/jCmYMo8pvx— PiQ (@PiQSuite) June 16, 2024
Three of the suspects (Gireev, Akiev, and Tsitskiev) were reportedly convicted in December last year for the planned IS attack on the Supreme Court of Karachay-Cherkessia, a Muslim-majority Russian republic in the Caucasus, while the other three were on remand for terrorism charges. Russian media also reported that the six prisoners were from Ingushetia, another Muslim-majority Russian republic in the Caucasus region.
The prison break reportedly began after Akiev, Gireev, and Tsitskiev destroyed the window bars of their cells and climbed down several floors by rope before entering the duty station of the pre-trial detention center and taking the guards hostage with a knife, a fire axe, and other sharp objects.
Gotta give kudos! This is exactly what should happen in similar situations. No need to discuss.
— Tracy Lyons (@TracyLyons3) June 17, 2024
The six hostage takers, one of whom wore a headband with the flag used by IS that bears an Arabic inscription, demanded a getaway car and access to the jail’s gun store. In one of the videos of the incident posted on a Telegram channel, one of the hostage takers was seen brandishing a knife and sitting beside a handcuffed prison officer. In the same clip, a Russian lieutenant colonel was also shown handcuffed with a wounded arm.
Waiting for the tankies and Russian bots to start saying it was either Ukraine / US that these people were working for
— Marcus Halberstram (@MHalberstram12) June 16, 2024
The authorities initially negotiated with the inmates, who holed themselves and their hostages in the jail’s yard. But Russian special forces soon decided to storm the prison. Intense automatic gunfire could be heard in footage uploaded to Russian Telegram channels, and videos uploaded showed six dead men, presumably the hostage-takers, in a pool of blood. Ambulances were also seen entering the compound.
"The criminals were eliminated," Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service said in a statement, which also said a "special operation" had taken place to free the hostages.
"The employees who were being held hostage were released. They are uninjured," the prison service also said.
