Five Russian mercenaries reported killed and then beheaded in Mozambique

Five Russian hired soldiers working for the Wagner private military company (PMC) have reportedly been killed in Mozambique, Carta de Moçambique reported. Sources told the outlet that the mercenaries were killed during an insurgent ambush on local security forces. RBC and other outlets soon recounted that reporting for Russian readers. However, the local Russian embassy told Interfax that it had not received any information about such an attack and was “very surprised” at the news.

The ambush allegedly took place on October 27 in the province of Cabo Delgado and left 20 people dead in total. According to Carta de Moçambique, insurgent forces placed barricades in the path of a car carrying local officers as well as the Wagner mercenaries and began shooting when the vehicle stopped. The bodies of the victims were reportedly beheaded and their vehicles burned. The Russian outlets DailyStorm and Lenta.ru quoted a Russian veteran who claimed the practice of beheading bodies is intended to provide evidence for killings and earn money from them.

The Times had previously reported on October 2 that about 200 Wagner PMC troops arrived in Mozambique to support government forces.