BTN News: Russia – Nearly two dozen Russian security officers and two prisoners were injured during a dramatic rescue mission Sunday that saved two prison guards held hostage by six inmates affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group at a detention center in Rostov-on-Don. The high-speed and violent action left all six hostage-takers dead.
Hostage Situation Unfolds
It kicked off when inmates, some imprisoned for terrorism offences and with links to ISIS, overpowered staff. The attackers stormed the guards’ quarters on Tuesday night, smashing the window bars and rappelling several floors down using knotted ropes and then took the guards hostage using a knife and a fire axe, state-run media said. Another inmate was seen holding a knife to the throat of a bound guard while demanding flyers for safe passage outside of the facility in negotiations with authorities.
Russian Special Forces Swiftly Responded
However their negotiations were quickly cut short as Russian special forces arrived to storm the detention center. The bloody gunbattle ended with all six hostage-takers killed. According to state news agency TASS, “the offenders were liquidated,” the Federal Penitentiary Service said. The prison service said two guards taken hostage were freed unharmed. A series of ambulances were seen leaving the premises once the operation was over.
The Hostage-Takers
Russian news reports said the attackers were from Ingushetia, a southern Russian republic bordering Chechnya. In 2022, three were detained for planning a court attack – in a different Russian Republic, Karachay-Cherkessia. TASS news agency wrote that the six men armed with a penknife, a rubber baton and a fire axe were on the central courtyard of the Detention Centre No 1. Video footage by the 112 Telegram channel showed six dead men with blood visible around their heads.
ISIS Activity in Russia
The Sunni Muslim militant group Islamic State has been defeated in Iraq and lost almost all in Syria but has redoubled attacks by splinter groups in different regions where they are claiming ever deadlier attacks globally. Among them, the Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) group, which claimed it had been behind a horrific 145-major kill event at the Crocus City Hall near Moscow in March.
After the Crocus City Hall attack, more than 20 people identified with the incident were detained by Russian security officials. Three of the four suspects, all Tajik citizens, have confessed to the attack, the fourth has denied involvement. Dalerdzhon Mirzoyev, 32; Saidakrami Rachabalizoda, 30; Mukhammadsobir Faizov, 19; and Shamsidin Fariduni, 25, were charged with carrying out a terrorist attack as a group and committing multiple murders.
Conclusion
This most recent incident exemplifies a continuous potential threat of ISIS-linked groups throughout Russia The quick work done by Russian security forces in Rostov-on-Don all the more illuminates the struggles faced with terrorism and the necessary steps to secure and protect detention facilities.
