Fatal incident in a Russian penal camp: Seven people are presumed dead after a hostage-taking. There is said to be a connection to IS.
Surowikino – A hostage-taking in a penal colony in Russia: According to authorities, at least three prison employees and four perpetrators were killed in the southern Russian region of Volgograd on Friday (23 August 2024). The hostage-taking was ended after several hours, the prison authority FSIN announced. Apparently, the hostage-takers had links to the jihadist militia Islamic State (IS).
Hostage takers allegedly stab prison staff in penal colony
According to the Russian authorities, four attackers took eight prison employees and four other inmates hostage in the IK-19 penal colony. “The perpetrators inflicted knife wounds of varying severity on four employees,” the FSIN said on the Telegram online service.
The IK-19 penal colony, which is known for its strict penal system, is located in the town of Surovikino, about 850 kilometers south of the Russian capital Moscow and about 120 kilometers west of the city of Volgograd. The exact number of victims among the prison staff was initially unclear. The information from the various authorities spoke alternately of three or four dead and a different number of injured.
Russian National Guard “neutralizes” four inmates after hostage-taking
The uprising probably ended in death for the perpetrators. According to the Russian National Guard, special forces “neutralized” four inmates who were being held by prison staff. The incident may have been well planned, because according to the prison service, it occurred exactly at the time of a meeting of the prison’s disciplinary commission.
Governor Andrei Bocharov suggested on Telegram that the hostage-takers were not Russians. “Everyone who is on our territory is obliged to respect and obey the laws of Russia,” the governor said. “We will not allow anyone to try to sow ethnic discord,” he added.
Hostage takers in Russian prison apparently spoke Arabic
Videos on Russian online networks, which the AFP news agency could not verify, showed about four prison guards on the ground, some of whom were taken hostage, covered in blood. At least two other men were filmed standing by a third person who spoke Arabic. The latter also confessed to being a member of the jihadist militia IS in Russian. Other videos allegedly showed an IS flag. Attack near Moscow The IS was probably the last to be involved.
There is also speculation about the reasons for the hostage-taking. One of the alleged attackers said it was an act of revenge for the oppression of Muslims after the attack on a concert hall in Moscow in March. 145 people were killed. A Central Asian IS group claimed responsibility for the attack at the time, and four of the alleged attackers in custody are from Tajikistan.
Putin informed about hostage-taking in penal camp
The public prosecutor’s office has initiated criminal proceedings. According to the Kremlin, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin be informed about the course of the hostage-taking.
A similar incident has already occurred recently in Russian prisons. In June, prisoners who had joined the IS militia took two guards hostage in a prison in the southern Rostov region. Russian special forces managed to kill the hostage-takers and free the guards. (cgsc with dpa and afp)
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