ISIS prisoners escaped from a prison in northern Syria, about 100 killed in battles with the Kurds
In one of the organization's most extensive attacks in recent years, he blew up a detention facility and evacuated dozens of his men.
Other prisoners have taken over the facility, and Kurdish forces are using the U.S. military to retake it. Thousands of prisoners are being held by Kurds in the area, and the Arabs are accusing them of discrimination.
News agencies
23/01/2022
Sunday, 23 January 2022, 12:12 Updated: 13:05
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In the video: Clashes between Kurdish forces and ISIS prisoners who took over a prison in northern Syria (Photo: Reuters)
Kurdish forces in Syria have been fighting ISIS prisoners who have taken over a prison in the north of the country since Thursday, and several people have been killed in clashes.
Residents and officials said today (Sunday) that the forces, backed by the U.S. military, have tightened the siege they are imposing on the facility in the province of Hasaka that was attacked last week by the jihadist organization.
The attack began with the explosion of a car bomb near the prison gates, from which dozens of prisoners escaped.
At least 70 of them were killed.
Syrian Democratic forces, made up mainly of Kurdish fighters, initially claimed they thwarted the escape from the jail and arrested 89 militants hiding nearby, but later admitted that the prisoners had taken over parts of the prison.
Troops said today that 17 of their fighters had been killed in the deadliest riot in the detention facilities where thousands of ISIS prisoners have been held since the organization's defeat in northern Syria and the east.
The Pentagon has confirmed that the US-led international coalition is attacking ISIS fighters from the air in aid of Kurdish forces.
Tribal officials in contact with residents in the area said U.S. coalition forces were stationed in positions around the jail and aircraft were observed in the sky.
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Support for them is growing in Kurdish-controlled areas.
ISIS fighters after the break-in (Photo: Official website, no)
It is not known how many prisoners are being held in this prison, the largest controlled by Kurdish forces in northern Syria. Relatives of many prisoners say they are young children and others arrested on faint suspicions or because of their opposition to the forced mobilization of Syrian democratic forces. Most of the Arab prisoners are being held without charge or trial, a situation that has increased the resentment of the Arab tribes in the region who accuse the Kurdish forces of racial discrimination. The Kurds deny this.
The human rights organization Human Rights Watch estimates that the Kurds hold about 12,000 men and boys suspected of belonging to ISIS, including 2,000 to 4,000 foreign foreigners from about 50 countries. In addition, civic organizations say thousands of more inmates are being held in secret detention centers where they are being tortured, and suffering from inhumane conditions.
Local leaders in areas controlled by the Kurdish militia YPG, most of whose residents are Arabs, say support for ISIS has grown as local resentment against Kurdish rule has increased.
ISIS has switched to guerrilla warfare since it lost control of its territories in Syria and Iraq, and the spree attack on Haskah has been one of the largest it has carried out in recent years.
His supporters posted a video that was allegedly filmed in prison, showing some of the organization's fighters alongside what appeared to be hostages.
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