Russian security forces storm prison to rescue hostages held by Daesh inmates

Security forces raided a detention center in southern Russia Sunday, killing inmates accused of links to Daesh terror cells who had taken two staff members hostage, state-funded news channel RT reported.

Journalists on the scene reported the sounds of gunfire, while multiple ambulances were seen arriving at the prison in footage on social media.

The hostages at the pretrial detention center in Rostov-on-Don were uninjured, Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service said in an official statement.

It said that the hostage takers had been “liquidated,” but did not comment further.

Several local news outlets, including RT, reported that at least some of the prisoners had been killed.

Earlier, state news agency Tass, citing unnamed sources in law enforcement, had said that six hostage takers were in the central courtyard of the Rostov region’s Detention Center No. 1, armed with a penknife, a rubber baton and a fire ax.

The prisoners include men accused of links to the DEASH group, it said.

RT reported that three of the hostage-takers had already been sentenced on terrorism charges, including disseminating extremist information and plotting to blow up a Russian courthouse.

Daesh has carried out several attacks on Russian soil in recent years. An affiliate of Daesh claimed responsibility for the most recent attack in March, when gunmen opened fire on a crowd at a concert hall in suburban Moscow, killing 145 people.