Russian Inmates Stage Deadly Takeover of Penal Colony

Four prisoners are dead after a riot at a maximum security penal colony in Russia’s Volgograd region escalated into hostages being taken and a stand off with state security services.

The prisoners, who described themselves as Islamic State militants, fatally stabbed four staff members before overtaking the facility, reported Reuters. The Russian National Guard told state media outlet RIA Novosti that snipers killed the prisoners “with four precise shots.”

“The criminals inflicted stab wounds of varying severity on the four employees,” the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) said in a statement. Three of the staff died on-site while one died of his wounds in hospital, according to RIA Novosti. Eight people, including four prisoners at the IK-19 facility, were held hostage.

Read more at The Daily Beast.