Russian special forces successfully rescued two guards and eliminated several men associated with Islamic State who had held them hostage at a detention center in Rostov on Sunday, as reported by the prison service. Video footage shared on Russian Telegram channels captured the sound of intense automatic gunfire during the operation.
The Federal Penitentiary Service stated that a “special operation” was carried out to free the hostages and eliminate the criminals. The service confirmed that the freed employees were unharmed.
🇷🇺 Special forces eliminated all six terrorists in Rostov pre-trial detention center-1 who took hostages.
– Three security officials were injured as a result of hostage-taking in pre-trial detention center-1. All of them are not in serious condition. One of the victims was… pic.twitter.com/IAemMBFK5B [1]
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) June 16, 2024 [2]
According to Russian media, the hostage takers, some of whom had previous terrorism convictions, had dismantled the bars of a window in their cell, gaining access to a guard room where they took at least two prison officers hostage.
State media reported that some of the individuals involved were accused of having ties to the Islamic State militant group, which had claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall in March.
Prior to the special forces’ intervention, a member of the hostage-taking group was shown brandishing a knife beside one of the bound guards in footage broadcast by the 112 Telegram channel. The individual wore a headband with the Islamic State flag bearing an Arabic inscription.
Russian media report that in Russian Rostov, convicts have taken prison employees hostage.
The center of Rostov has been closed for traffic. Russian special services are approaching the prison.
Reportedly, several of the convicts were convicted for their connections with ISIS. pic.twitter.com/HqLlMbI8li [3]
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) June 16, 2024 [4]