According to the Russian newspaper Moscow Times, three employees of the penal colony have died and special forces have arrived.
Leonard Wilhelmus,
Tomi Pyy
14:07•Updated 15:29
A group of prisoners have taken the workers of a penal colony hostage in the Volgograd region of southern Russia on Friday, reports the Russian state news agency Tass.
In connection with the rebellion, the prisoners have killed at least one employee of the penal colony, but there is currently no definite information on the number of dead.
Russian newspaper According to The Moscow Times in connection with the rebellion, three penal colony workers have died and special forces have arrived on the scene.
– Measures have been taken to release the hostages. There are victims, the prison management informs Tassi.
The hostage situation started during a meeting of the disciplinary team.
According to the Moscow Times, there are a total of four hijackers and they are supporters of the terrorist organization ISIS. The newspaper cites sources who say the attackers demanded a ransom of two million dollars and a helicopter. Otherwise, they threaten to kill the hostages.
The news agency Reuters, on the other hand, reports that the video circulating on Russian social media supposedly shows two hijackers. In the video, one of them says that they are fighters of the Islamic terrorist organization ISIS and have taken over the prison. At least four prison employees in uniform can be seen in the video sitting or lying in a pool of blood.
According to news websites connected to the Russian security authorities, the prisoners who started the rebellion are citizens of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, Reuters reports.
The hostage situation is ongoing in the penal colony IK-19, which is located in the city of Surovikino. It has space for a total of 1,241 male prisoners.
There have been rebellions in Russian prisons before. For example, last June, six prisoners broke out of their cells and took workers of a penal colony hostage in Rostov, southern Russia. The three attackers had been convicted of terrorism offenses for their involvement in ISIS activities.
Source: Reuters
The news is updated.