Four officials killed in hostage taking at Russian prison

Federal authorities say four prison staff have been killed after inmates rioted at a Russian penal colony and took hostages.

Special forces raided the IK-19 Surovikino facility in the southwestern Volgograd region after knife-wielding inmates, identifying themselves as Islamic State (IS) fighters, claimed to have taken control of the vast complex.

Authorities said the special forces operation freed several hostages and “neutralized” all the attackers, but later confirmed that four prison staff were killed.

An unverified image posted on social media shows a knife-wielding prisoner standing over a bloodied guard during the riot.

Russia’s Rosgvardia National Guard said snipers shot dead four attackers during the rescue operation.

Footage posted by the National Guard on the messaging app Telegram shows heavily armed troops entering the prison.

The attack began during a meeting of the disciplinary committee, the Federal Correctional Service (FSIN) said in a statement. During the attack, the attackers slashed guards and injured several prison staff.

Eight prison staff and four inmates were taken hostage, the FSIN said. Some Russian media reports said the prison director and deputy director were among those detained.

“The criminals stabbed four employees to varying degrees of severity, three of whom died. Four others who resisted were hospitalized, one of whom died at the hospital.”

In dramatic mobile phone footage released by the attackers, they identified themselves as IS fighters. The men said they were motivated by revenge for the persecution of Muslims.

The video also shows prison officers lying in pools of blood, while in other clips the attackers are seen walking around the prison yard.

Volgograd region governor Andrei Bocharov said earlier that the hostage taking “poses no threat to civilians”.

President Vladimir Putin was filmed taking part in an online meeting with security chiefs, in which the Kremlin said he was updated on the situation.

The Volgograd hostage taking is the second such incident this summer, after Six prisoners took the oath of allegiance The Islamic State group has captured two guards at a facility in the Rostov region.

Five inmates were killed and a sixth was sentenced to 20 years in prison following the attack.

Prosecutors said they have opened a case related to the hostage taking.

IK-19 Surovikino is a high-security prison camp. It is believed to hold around 1,200 prisoners.