Russian special forces freed two prison guards and killed six inmates linked to the Islamic State teror group who had taken them hostage at a detention centre in Rostov, Russian media reported.
Some of the hostage-takers had been convicted of terrorism and were linked to the Islamic State, which claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall in March.
The six inmates knocked out window bars and descended by rope, taking the guards hostage with a knife and fire axe. In a video published by the 112 Telegram channel, one inmate was shown with a knife beside a bound guard, demanding free passage out of the prison.
Russian special forces decided to storm the prison, with intense gunfire heard in footage on Russian Telegram channels. Video from the 112 Telegram channel showed the six dead men in pools of blood.
“The criminals were eliminated,” the Federal Penitentiary Service said in a statement, adding that the hostages were released unharmed.
Ambulances were seen entering the complex.
Islamic State was defeated in Iraq and Syria but splintered into regional groups claiming deadly attacks worldwide. ISIS-K, a faction, claimed the March attack on Crocus City Hall near Moscow, which killed 145 people.
Russian media reported that the hostage-takers were from Ingushetia and three had been detained in 2022 for planning an attack on a court in Karachay-Cherkessia.