Daesh attacks a prison and releases jihadists

Jihadists from the Islamic State group escaped from prison in the city of Hassaké, in Syria, on the night of Thursday 20 to Friday 21 January. These men had been arrested several years ago by Kurdish forces, which control this part of Syria. They escaped in the most spectacular attack carried out by IS since its fall in 2019.

Footage shows an oil depot, located right next to the prison, on fire. Since this assault in the middle of the night, intense fighting has continued in this city of Hassaké. They pit jihadists against Kurdish forces. There are no precise figures on the number of escaped prisoners, but inhabitants leave the city in all haste. According to several testimonies, the escaped jihadists engage in abuses. “There have been murders since yesterday, the jihadists have killed four or five people in our neighborhood”, says Ibrahim Al Mohammed, a resident of Hassaké.