According to Russian state media, Russian special forces quelled a brief riot at a provincial detention center on Sunday, killing detainees, some of whom were charged with terrorism. , who had escaped from their cells earlier in the day.
Six detainees awaiting trial at a pre-trial detention center in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don have gained control of the facility, state media reported. Armed with knives, the suspects took two guards hostage, the report said.
A video posted on Rostov’s local news channels and retweeted by several Russian officials appears to show a man identified as one of the detainees brandishing a knife and demanding an umbrella. I left the prison for an unknown destination. A detainee is seen in the video holding a black flag associated with the Islamic State. The video could not be immediately verified.
Security officers surrounded the detention center on Sunday morning. Immediately afterward, Russian state media published a short statement from the country’s prison administration saying that security officers had stormed the facility, “liquidated” detainees and freed prisoners. hostages were unharmed.
The governor of Rostov and senior federal officials have not yet commented on this incident.
The Rostov mutiny occurred less than three months after the attackers staged it deadliest terrorist attack in Russia for more than a decade at a concert hall near Moscow. The attack that killed nearly 150 people took place regardless Provided by US intelligence agencies a detailed warning to their Russian counterparts of the impending plot.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the concert hall attack. However, President Vladimir V. Putin blamed Ukraine and Western intelligence agencies without providing evidence.
Putin’s critics say the accusations are an attempt to derail his government’s policies. failed to deal with the threat of Islamic terrorism as their attention turned to the war in Ukraine.
Sunday’s attack could renew public discussion about that threat, which has been fueled by the Kremlin’s crackdown on Muslim separatists in Russia and Mr. Putin’s support for his enemies. of the Islamic State in Syria.
At least one Russian official has publicly questioned how detainees in Rostov were able to escape their cells and overpower guards.
“They have clearly been planning this for a long time,” said Andrei Medvedev, a Russian propagandist and regional lawmaker in Moscow. wrote on Telegram Sunday messaging app. “Where are the procedures for dealing with particularly dangerous detainees?”
Hwaida Saad Report contributions.
