ISIS prisoners have broken free at a Russian prison and are holding guards to ransom, local officials say.
At least one guard was reportedly killed after a gang of prisoners secretly acquired knives and attacked their captors inside the jail in the Volgograd region.
They demanded a helicopter with a pilot, $2 million in cash and safe passage by air to the southeast of the country so they can flee across the border, according to local media.
Prison service chiefs say ‘several prisoners took hostages’ during a meeting of officials at the facility.
The perpertrators reportedly described themselves as the ‘Mujahideen of the Islamic State’ and at least one spoke Arabic.
Footage showed two men brandishing large blades while a man in a guard’s uniform with a severely bloodied face knelt on the ground with his hands tied behind his back.
The prison’s chief was said to have been freed or escaped after being beaten over the head with bottle and a hammer.
Another recovered hostage had had his stomach cut open with a knife, while a third was hospitalised after a prisoner nearly hacked his ear off.
A fourth suffered stab wounds to the face and skull fractures.
The prisoners threatened to kill the remaining hostages unless their demands are met.
But the confrontation ended abruptly when snipers Russia’s National Guard arrived and ‘neutralised’ four of the prisoners later on Friday, local media reported.
It was not clear whether other rebels survived, but all the hostages were said to have been fried.
A cleric from a local mosque had been dispatched to the prison to mediate the negotiations.
Unconfirmed reports suggested two of the men were from Uzbekistan and two from Tajikistan, both countries which have suffered outbreaks of violence by militant Islamists in recent years.
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