Knife-wielding Russian convicts take prison staff hostage and kill one guard

A group of prisoners identifying themselves as Islamic State militants seized hostages in a maximum security jail in Russia’s southern Volgograd region and killed at least one member of staff, the country’s prison service said.

“During a session of a disciplinary commission, convicts took staff of the penal institution as hostages,” the prison service said in a statement. “Measures are currently being taken to free the hostages. There are casualties.”

A graphic video circulating on several Russian Telegram channels shows at least three hostage-takers wielding knives and standing over what appears to be injured or dead prison guards lying in a pool of blood.

One of the hostage-takers says in the clip that the group are “mujahideen” of Islamic State (IS).

Read more: The Guardian