End of Hostage Situation in Russian Prison with Death of 'ISIS Members'

Russian security forces shot dead several suspects of 'terrorist crimes' who had taken two prison guards hostage in a detention facility in the south of the country. The television network 'Russia Today' reported on Sunday, June 17, that the hostage-takers were accused of links to the Islamist terrorist group ISIS. Journalists dispatched to the Rostov detention facility in southern Russia also reported hearing several gunshots, followed by ambulances entering the detention area. The operation to free the hostages lasted only three minutes. The Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia stated that the guards who were taken hostage are safe. Earlier, the TASS news agency reported that six individuals armed with knives, batons, and an axe had taken two guards hostage in detention center number one of Rostov prison. Images published on social media also show at least two of the hostage-takers wearing headbands with the ISIS flag in the Rostov detention area. Russia Today reported that three of the hostage-takers had previously been charged with terrorist crimes related to a plot to blow up a court in Russia. Russian media say these individuals were being held in the Rostov detention center prior to their trial and transfer to prison. It is unclear how these detainees became armed with knives and even brought an ISIS flag into the detention center. Over the past years, ISIS has carried out several attacks on Russian soil, the deadliest of which occurred in April of this year, leaving 145 dead and dozens injured. In this incident, four attackers armed with weapons attacked a concert hall in the city of Krasnogorsk, west of Moscow, the capital of Russia. The Russian government announced that it had arrested 11 people in connection with this attack. Moscow entered the battle against ISIS during the Syrian civil war in support of Bashar al-Assad's government and still maintains an active presence in Syria.