Kurdish forces in northeast Syria combed the area around a large prison on Thursday (January 27th), after retaking it from Islamic State (IS) fighters the previous day, the Syrian Observatory reported. human rights (OSDH).
The IS attack and subsequent clashes around the prison in the city of Hassakeh left more than 200 people dead.
This is the largest jihadist assault in Syria in three years.
Read alsoSyria: Kurdish forces fight to retake a prison from the Islamic State
The Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheading Syria's anti-ISIS fight, said it regained full control of Ghwayran prison on Wednesday, ending six days of fighting.
The Kurdish Autonomous Administration controls large areas of northern and northeastern Syria.
On Thursday, SDF fighters, backed by the US-led coalition fighting ISIS, "
scoured the cells and neighborhoods around the prison for jihadists
", the OSDH said. , based in the UK but drawing on an extensive network of sources in war-torn Syria.
“
Coalition planes targeted IS fighters entrenched in areas around the prison during the night, killing at least seven of them
,” according to the OSDH.
About 151 jihadists, 53 Kurdish fighters and seven civilians have been killed in the violence in Hassakeh since the prison assault began on January 20, according to the same source.
The prison housed at least 3,500 jihadists when IS launched an assault with truck bombs and heavy weapons.
“
The takeover of the prison by Kurdish-led forces ends this deadly ordeal, but the broader crisis involving these prisoners is far from over
,” Human Rights Watch warned on Wednesday.
Prisoners who surrendered were moved to more secure facilities, according to the SDF.
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