ISIS prisoners at a Russian penal colony have staged a bloody mutiny, resulting in the death of several prison guards.
Reports suggest several hostages have also been taken by the ISIS rebels.
The attackers allegedly identified themselves as ISIS members and launched their mutiny at the IK-19 prison during a meeting of the disciplinary commission.
The penal colony is located in the Surovikinsky district of the Volgograd region, 150 km from the city of Volgograd.
At least three guards are believed to have been killed, and seven seriously injured.
The wounded have been transferred to an intensive care unit. Among them is the 45-year-old head of the prison Andrey Devyatov.
A video shot in the early moments of the mutiny by the ISIS rebels shows a horrifying scene of slaughter and death.
The lifeless and bloodied bodies of what appear to be several prison guards are strewn around a room, while one of the rebels holds a hostage at knife point.
The latest reports say the ISIS rebels are demanding two million US dollars and a helicopter. However, the Islamist radicals have denied they have made any such demands.
The hostage takers are believed to be Ramzidin Toshev, Rustamchon Navruzi, Nazirchon Toshov and Temur Khusinov.
Two of them are natives of Uzbekistan, and two more are from Tajikistan, according to local media.
Security forces are currently being deployed to the scene, while a state of emergency has been declared in the penal colony.
“In connection with the emergency at IK-19 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Volgograd Region, a group of employees from the central office of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia (FSIN) immediately left for the region to conduct an inspection,” the FSIN said in a statement.
Russia‘s Investigative Committee has also opened a criminal case into the taking of hostages at the penal colony.
Hostage negotiators are being brought to the prison to try and secure the release of the employees seized by the rebels.
A mullah from the Volgograd mosque is on his way to IK-19 to help in negotiations with the Islamic radicals.
