Eight people were killed in a clash between prisoners in a Russian prison. These include four prison employees. This violence took place in the high-security IK-19 Surovikino penal colony in the Volgograd region of Russia. According to the information, a group of prisoners staged a violent rebellion. These prisoners armed with knives are said to be associated with the Islamic State. They took some prisoners hostage and took control of a part of the prison. The attackers claimed that they did this to take revenge for the oppression of Muslims.
One report said the crisis began when a routine discipline meeting was scheduled to take place. While the meeting was underway, a group of inmates, identified as Ramjidin Toshev (28), Rustamchon Navruzi (23), Nazirchon Toshov (28) and Timur Khusinov (29), launched an attack. The four men, all from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, attacked guards with knives, injuring several and taking eight prison staff and four fellow convicts hostage.
A photo of the brawl has surfaced on social media. It shows a prisoner holding a knife over a bloodied prison guard during the siege. Another video shows the attackers in the prison yard. Here a hostage was sitting with a bloodied face. The attackers pledged their allegiance to ISIS in the video. They claimed the attack was an act of revenge for the persecution of Muslims. When the situation worsened, special Russian forces and snipers equipped with weapons were deployed.
