ISIS fanatic inmates who took took control of a Russian penal colony, slashing a guard’s throat and forcing maimed hostages to beg Putin for help, have now been ‘liquidated’ by snipers, according to security forces.
Video emerged of knife-wielding prisoners at the ‘harsh regime’ IK-19 penal colony in Volgograd saying they were ‘mujahideen’ of Islamic State seeking revenge for their ‘brothers’ who carried out the Crocus City Hall massacre.
One of the hostage-takers, identified as Rustamchon Navruzi, 23, a native of Tajikistan, is said to have strapped himself with explosives the prisoners made in the jail workshop using petrol and industrial liquids.
The four attackers posted gruesome videos showing them holding a knife to the neck of a terrified guard while other uniformed officials were seen lying on the floor bleeding.Â
A wounded prison officer – his face covered in blood – was seen in another video being forced to beg Vladimir Putin to intervene inside the Surovikino prison compound.
The hostage-takers reportedly demanded a helicopter, £1.5 million in cash and an air corridor to the southeast in order to leave the country, and threatened to kill the hostages if their demands weren’t met.
But the siege came to a dramatic end as Russia‘s feared special forces moved in with Navruzi trying and failing to detonate his suicide vest – before being ‘liquidated’ along with his three fellow attackers.Â
Video emerged of a prisoner holding a knife to the neck of one of the guards, whose blood appeared to be all over his uniform
At least five uniformed prison officials were seen lying in pools of blood with a knife-wielding hostage-taker nearby
One prison guard was seen lying on the floor, with blood all over his face and clothes
One of the hostage-takers, who appeared to be holding flag affiliated with ISIS, is said to have strapped himself with explosives. Footage shows the hostage-takers brandishing knives in videos shared on social media
Russian special services troops were reported to be at the scene (unconfirmed footage on social media appears to be showing the troops)
Vladimir Putin, pictured today, demanded an update on the hostage situation in his penal colony
In the Kremlin, a pale-looking Putin was seen discussing the crisis with officials.Â
In their bloodthirsty videos, the perpetrators described themselves as ‘Mujahideen of the Islamic State’, and at least one spoke Arabic, as they said they had seized control of the penal colony they were held at.
Mash news outlet said it is believed the four hostage takers had become radicalised inside the jail.Â
Russia state media said at least one member of the prison staff is believed to have been killed.
Footage shows at least four uniformed prison officials lying or sitting in pools of blood. Three guards of the guards were lying motionless and one appeared to have had his throat cut.Â
Another was sitting upright in a doorway, where a knifeman was yanking him around by his neck.Â
The prisoner who was heard begging for Putin to intervene appeared to have been forced to do so by the hostage-takers.Â
A knifeman could be heard dictating to the officer what to say to Putin. ‘Appeal to Putin, appeal to the president,’ he says to the prisoner.
‘I appeal to the President of the Russian Federation….’ The voice of the captor says: ‘Louder…’, as the prisoner replies: ‘I appeal to the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, to fulfill the demand. I need a doctor.’
The ISIS hostage-taker says: ‘You see, your own people have left you, they’re not helping you. We’ve been demanding for half an hour that they call a doctor. They ran away and left you behind. Here are your friends, here are your colleagues.’
A separate video shows a rattled Putin, 71, start a security council meeting by seeking to show he is in charge of the latest crisis to hit him amid the war with Ukraine.
‘The Head of the Federal Penitentiary Service has reported to me on the situation in one of the prisons in the Volgograd region,’ he said.
‘I want to hear from the Minister of the Interior and the Director of the Federal Security Service [FSB].’
Two of the hostage-takers, who were holding a knife, can be seen talking to the prison guard who begged for Putin to intervene
Disturbing footage shared by the hostage-takers shows guards lying motionless on the floor
One ISIS hostage-taker can be seen holding a knife to the neck of a guard, who has blood all over his face and body
This prisoner-turned-hostage-taker is said to be wearing a vest with explosives
One of the ISIS terrorists can be seen in what appears to be a courtyard inside the IK-19 penal colony
The hostage-takers later said in footage shared on social media: ‘We are doing all this for the sake of Allah, for the sake of establishing Sharia, for the sake of the Muslim brothers who are sitting in Syria.
‘We are for those brothers to whom they did this when all this happened in Crocus. This is revenge for all the Muslim brothers.’
Crocus referred to a bloody siege at Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk, Moscow region in March. A total of 145 people died in a shootout.Â
The prison service said in a statement: ‘During a session of a disciplinary commission, convicts took staff of the penal institution as hostages. Measures are currently being taken to free the hostages. There are casualties.’
Four prison staff were hospitalised due to the attack, Volgograd governor Andrey Bocharov said.
‘An operational headquarters has been set up to coordinate the work on releasing the hostages. Law enforcement and security agencies are carrying out operational activities. There is no threat to the civilian population,’ he added.
The prison is designated as a ‘harsh regime’ penal colony with capacity to hold up to 1,241 male prisoners.Â
The head of the IK-19 penal colony, Interior Ministry Colonel Andrei Devyatov, was being held hostage but reports said he was later freed or escaped. He was reportedly beaten with a hammer and a bottle over his head.
One of the victims had his stomach opened with a knife, it was reported. The attackers tried to cut off the ear of another hostage, named Yuri Mavrin, who was later hospitalised.
Russian sources say that at least one person is believed to have been killed and several more injured and feared dead after the inmates, who describe themselves as members of ISIS, launched their attack at a Russian prison – named IK-19 – in the Volgograd region
The head of the IK-19 penal colony, Interior Ministry Colonel Andrei Devyatov (pictured), was being held hostage but reports said he was later freed or escaped. He was reportedly beaten with a hammer and a bottle over his head
Pictures of the suspected attackers were released by Russian media, naming them as Ramzidin Toshev, top left, Rustamchon Navruzi, top right, Nazirchon Toshov, bottom left, Temur Khusinov, bottom right
Reports said the attackers had bought knives inside the penal colony in exchange for bribes.
Three employees of the jail were left in intensive care after fleeing the horror and prison officer Roman Ponomarev was in an ‘extremely serious condition’. Devyatov was also wounded and is in intensive care.
Another officer, Alexey Lygin, suffered stab wounds to the face, and had a skull fracture. He was in a critical condition. A convict named Alexander Boyko suffered a stab wound to the abdomen.
The names of the suspected terrorists holding hostages were given as Ramzidin Toshev, Rustamchon Navruzi, Nazirchon Toshov, and Temur Khusinov.
Unconfirmed reports said two were reported to be natives of Uzbekistan, and two from Tajikistan.
The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under articles on hostage-taking and prison disruption.
Russia, whose defence and security agencies are heavily focused on its war in Ukraine, has seen a recent upsurge in Islamist militant attacks.
In June, a bloody Islamic State-linked prison uprising took place in the southern region of Rostov, where special forces shot dead six inmates who had taken hostages.
Later that month, at least 20 people were killed in shooting attacks in two cities in Dagestan, a mainly Muslim region of southern Russia.
In March, Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack in which gunmen raided the Crocus City concert hall near Moscow, sprayed the audience with automatic weapons fire and set fire to the building, killing 145 people.