This episode is brought to you by Patriot Gold Group. Protect your retirement assets from the ups and downs of a turbulent economy. Speak to the experts at Patriot Gold. They've been the top-rated gold IRA dealer for seven years in a row. Go figure, seven years in a row. That's a lot of years in a row. Go to patriotgoldgroup. Com or call 1-888-621-3856 for a free investor guide. It's Friday, 23 August. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world's stage. All right, let's get briefed. First, a shocking scene out of Russia as ISIS prisoners, remember ISIS? They're back, took over a penal colony, killing four guards and forcing maimed hostages to beg Vladimir Putin for their lives before Russian security forces stage to rescue. Also, despite a chaotic week of negotiations, Egyptian ceasefire mediators are delivering a new proposal concerning control of the Gaza-Egypt border to Hamas as they make their final push to secure a truce and hostage exchange between the terrorists in Israel. But first, our afternoon spotlight. Knife-wielding Islamic state fanatics, ISIS, imprisoned in a penal colony in Russia's Volgograd region, mounted a bloody attack on guards Friday morning, killing several as they took control of the facility and seized a number of hostages for several tense hours before being neutralized by security forces.

Shocking video on Russian state media showed four attackers holding knives and shouting that they were Moudjadine of the Islamic State. The terrorists had apparently slashed their way through the prison guards, at least four of whom could be seen lying or sitting in pools of blood. Three of the bodies were motionless, and one had their throat cut. Other footage showed the attackers holding a knife to the neck of a bloodied guard while taunting him and forcing him to beg Russian President Putin for help. The attackers reportedly made their move during a session of a disciplinary commission at the prison. While unconfirmed, early reports suggested that the terrorists, identified as nationals of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, staged the attack as revenge for their ISIS brothers who carried out the Crocus City Hall Massacre in March that left more than 140 people dead in Moscow. According to the Daily Mail, sighting reports in Russia, the attackers demanded a helicopter, the equivalent of nearly $2 million in cash and an air corridor to the Southeast so that they could flee the country. Well, those demands were not met. Russian forces stormed the prison several hours after the attack on Friday, freeing all the surviving hostages and liquidating the four terrorists.

Russian officials said the terrorists initially seized eight employees of the penal colony and four fellow inmates. Officials subsequently confirmed the deaths of four of the prison guards. In a statement, Russia's federal penitentiary service said, The criminals inflicted stab wounds of varying severity on four employees, three of whom died. Another four who resisted were hospitalized, one of whom died later in the hospital. They added that the four convicts taken hostage also suffered unspecified injuries. The latest attack raises significant security questions for Russia. It's unclear how the attackers acquired knives and the cell phones that they used to film their deadly attack, and one of the attackers also appeared to be wearing an improvised explosive vest. With their defense and security forces heavily focused on the war in Ukraine, Russia has seen a steady increase in attacks by Islamic militants throughout the year. As I mentioned in March, ISIS militants stormed the Crocus City concert hall near Moscow, slaughtering 145 people and injuring more than 550 others. In June, ISIS linked shooting attacks on a church, a synagogue, and a police checkpoint in the Muslim-majority Daghistan region of Southern Russia left at least 20 people dead. Earlier that month, there was also an Isis-linked prison uprising in the Southern region of Rostov, though no hostages were harmed in that incident.

Coming up after the break, Egyptian ceasefire mediators are delivering a new proposal concerning control of the Gaza-Egypt border to Hamas as negotiators make a final push to secure a truce and hostage exchange. I'll be right back.

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Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. After a chaotic week of ceasefire negotiations and various reports that the talks between Israel and Hamas were on the in the brink of collapse, US officials are still expressing optimism that a deal to free the remaining hostages in Gaza can be achieved. Us National Security Spokes, John Kirby, pushed back on the pessimistic media reports on Friday saying that mediators made progress during what he described as a, quote, constructive session in Cairo on Thursday. Sources with the Israeli delegation told the Jerusalem Post that they had narrowed the gaps on critical issues relating to control of the Gaza-Egypt border, particularly the strategic Philadelphia axis, which remains the largest point of contention between Israel and Hamas. According to the Israeli delegation, Egyptian officials will deliver the updated proposal to representatives of Hamas later on Friday, though, obviously, it remains to be seen how the terror group will respond. And of course, in part, it depends on how the Iranian regime tells Hamas how to respond. Kirby told reporters on Friday, Early signs in Cairo, and these are early signs, is that the discussions have been constructive, but, he said, there's more talks to come here over the course of the weekend.

Now, it's worth noting that the White House's tendency to issue relatively optimistic statements regarding the various ceasefire discussions has been at odds with more negative or maybe the words pragmatic statements from other participants, including the Qataris and Egyptians. Officials are eager to iron out the remaining disagreements between Israel and Hamas before a high-level summit on Sunday in Cairo, and that will reportedly be led by CIA Director William Burns. The US hopes that Sunday's meeting will serve as a end game negotiation that will lead to implementation of a deal. As we've been discussing this week, the question of who gets to control the border region between Gaza and Egypt has proven to be extremely contentious. Israeli Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who agreed to a US bridging proposal on Monday that Hamas has so far rejected, has vow to maintain control of the border region, along with the Netsarim Corridor, separating Northern and Southern Gaza. Stipulations that Hamas has fundamentally opposed. Israeli officials note that Hamas has used the strategic Philadelphia Axis along the border with Egypt to smuggle weapons and other contraband into Gaza, and that maintaining control of the region is critical to ensure the safety of Israel and to prevent Hamas from rearming.

It's not just Hamas that Israel has to contend with when it comes to the border region. They also need to secure the approval of Egyptian leaders who've been opposed to allowing Israeli troops to stay on the border. At Thursday's discussions, the Israeli delegation reportedly brought maps and a comprehensive proposal on how to secure the border region, though the details remain unclear. The updated proposal has apparently been constructed in a way that allows the initial deal to get underway without resolving all the issues. And regarding Hamas, who are not directly involved in the current negotiations, Kirby told reporters, We're in Cairo, they're in Cairo, we need Hamas to participate, and we need to get down to the brass tax of locking in these details. Well, look, he's not wrong. Typically, you need the opposing parties engaged in the negotiations in order to an agreement. Hamas, thus far, has decided not to directly participate. So it's the sound of one-hand clapping. And that, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Friday, August 23rd. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@thefirsttv. Com. The PDB team loves to read through your emails and your postcards and your telegrams.

Does anybody still send a postcard? And to listen to the show ad-free, well, you know, become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by simply visiting pdbpremium. Com. It really is simple. Now, finally, I do have it on good authority that today is Friday. As all well-informed folks know, if it's Friday, well, it's time for another episode of our PDB Situation Report. That's the extended version of the PDB, where we feature excellent guests being asked occasionally insightful questions by me, while they provide expert analysis and insight on key issues of the day. Now, new episodes of the Situation Report launch every Friday evening at 10:00 PM on the first TV, and they're also available for your viewing pleasure on our YouTube channel. That would be at President's Daily Brief, and of course, all podcast platforms. Tune in. Tv viewing experts have called the Situation Report everything from riveting to pithy to informative to just what the doctor ordered. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back over the weekend with our PDB Situation Report. Until then, well, you know the drill. Stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool..