81 Islamic State Terrorists Recaptured After Prison Release During SDF Handover
By The Media Line Staff
Syrian authorities said they have recaptured dozens of Islamic State (IS) detainees following what they described as a mass escape from a prison in northeastern Syria, an incident that unfolded as control of security facilities was shifting from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) during a newly announced ceasefire.
The Interior Ministry said Syrian Army units and Interior Ministry special operations forces apprehended 81 detainees after 120 were released from al-Shaddadi prison in Al-Hasakah province. The ministry said the operation began after government forces entered the town of al-Shaddadi and launched what it described as a wide-ranging security sweep.
“After the escape of 120 Daesh [Islamic State] terrorists from the prison in al-Shaddadi, Syrian Army and Interior Ministry forces entered the city and carried out a comprehensive search and sweep operation,” the ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
Authorities said efforts were continuing to locate the remaining detainees, adding, “The search for the remaining Daesh terrorists continues.”
Earlier Interior Ministry statements blamed the release on the The People’s Defense Units terror group, which operates within the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Syrian officials said the prison had been under SDF control prior to the incident.
Accounts of the scale of the releases vary sharply. The Kurdish outlet Rudaw cited SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami as saying that roughly 1,500 IS members escaped from the facility. By contrast, the Syrian army initially said only that “a number of” Islamic State fighters had fled, without giving figures, while later government statements fixed the number released at 120.
US officials and regional sources said IS terrorists escaped amid confusion during the transfer of authority from the SDF to the Syrian government. Under an integration agreement announced Sunday by Syrian President Ahmad al Sharaa, the SDF is to be folded into state institutions, with its forces withdrawing east of the Euphrates River and administrative and security control of Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor provinces handed over to Damascus. The deal also includes the transfer of responsibility for prisons holding IS detainees.
The agreement followed a Syrian Army operation that restored government control over large areas of eastern and northeastern Syria. Authorities said the campaign came after repeated SDF violations of earlier arrangements signed nearly a year ago.
Brought to you by www.srnnews.com
