ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two prison guards in southern Russia have been taken hostage by six detainees including some with links to the Islamic State (ISIS), state media announced on Sunday.
“The accused, held in one of the cells of the pre-trial detention center No. 1 of the Main Directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Rostov Region, took hostage two employees of the penal system,” Russia’s state-run TASS news agency said, citing a statement from the prison services.
The prisoners are ISIS members accused of “terrorist crimes,” the statement said, adding that they seized the guards while armed with a knife, a rubber baton, and an axe.
Russian authorities announced later in the day that the guards were freed and the detainees were "eliminated".
Russia has been targeted by ISIS militants on several occasions.
On March 22, gunmen in camouflage attacked the Crocus City Hall in northern Moscow’s Krasnogorsk suburb ahead of a rock concert, tossing a grenade and throwing flammable liquid. At least 144 people were killed in the attack which received widespread international condemnation and hundreds more were injured.
It was the deadliest attack on Russian territory in decades.
Shortly after, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.
Russian warplanes are also supporting a major anti-ISIS sweeping operation carried out by the Syrian government in areas where the jihadists remain active, with a recent rise in deadly attacks by the militants killing many Syrian government soldiers.
Updated at 6:37 pm
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