Russian special forces shot and killed six prisoners associated with ISIS

At a detention facility in the southern city of Rostov, Russian special forces shot and killed six prisoners associated with the Islamic State militant group who had taken them hostage on Sunday, according to Russian media. They also rescued two prison guards.

According to the prison service, the two guards were kidnapped by six inmates earlier on Sunday, and Russian media said that an attempt was made to rescue them.

According to state media, a few of the individuals were found guilty of offenses related to terrorism and were suspected of being part of the militant organization that took credit for a deadly attack on a Moscow music hall in March.

The six hostage takers, one of them had an Islamic State flag with an Arabic inscription on a headband, broke through window bars, rappelled down multiple stories using ropes, and then used a knife and fire axe to kidnap the guards.

However, Russian special troops made the decision to raid the jail. Footage posted on Russian Telegram channels showed intense automatic shooting. In a video posted by the 112 Telegram group, the six deceased men were seen lying in bloody puddles.

“The criminals were eliminated,” Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service said in a statement, which 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 said.

The Russian media reported that the hostage takers were from the southern Russian region of Ingushetia, and that three of them had been arrested in 2022 for plotting an attack on a court in Karachay-Cherkessia, another Russian republic.