Dozens of jihadists were still holed up Thursday in a prison in Syria, which Kurdish forces announced they had regained control the day before, nearly a week after an attack by the Islamic State (IS) group that left more than 235 dead.
The Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheading the fight against the IS group in Syria, said on Wednesday it had regained full control of Ghwayran prison in Hassaké, a city in the northeast of the country. , ending six days of intense fighting.
But on Thursday, new sporadic clashes within the prison punctuated the search operations still in progress, carried out by the SDF, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), an NGO headquartered in the Kingdom. Kingdom and who has an extensive network of sources in Syria.
Twelve fighters from the IS group were killed in these fights, according to the OSDH. The bodies of five other jihadists were also found, according to the NGO.
The combing operations made it possible to flush out 60 to 90 jihadists still hidden in a wing of the prison, explained the FDS, announcing the surrender of approximately “3,500 members of the EI group”.
No less than 173 jihadists, 55 Kurdish fighters and 7 civilians have been killed in the violence in Hassaké since the start of the attack on the prison on January 20, said the OSDH.
A curfew has been in effect in this city for four days, the Kurdish forces – supported by a coalition led by the United States – blocking all access to prevent fleeing jihadists from going to other regions.
Important offensive
According to the OSDH, 25 to 40 jihadists had been holed up in the basement of the prison, without food, for nearly a week. “Some of them were killed during the air raid [mercredi] evening as they tried to flee,” said the NGO.
The death toll from the fighting is likely to rise further, as “the fate of dozens of people is still unknown”, she warns, adding that “120 SDF fighters and members of the police have been taken to hospital, some seriously injured”.
The IS group, for its part, in a press release broadcast on its Telegram channels, claimed to have killed or injured eight members of the Kurdish forces, “despite the announcement of the apostates of their control of the prison”.
The attack launched on January 20 by the IS group against this prison, where thousands of jihadists were detained, is the largest offensive by this group since its territorial defeat in Syria in 2019 against Kurdish forces. The Kurdish Autonomous Administration controls large areas of northern and northeastern Syria.
The US-led anti-jihadist coalition carries out air raids targeting members of the IS group, in support of Kurdish forces.
Since last Thursday, clashes have forced about 45,000 people who lived in areas near the prison to flee in freezing weather, according to the UN.
“The takeover of the prison by Kurdish-led forces puts an end to this deadly ordeal, but the broader crisis involving these prisoners is far from over,” Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.
Prisoners who surrendered were moved to safer facilities, the SDF assured. The Kurds have been calling in vain for years for the repatriation of some 12,000 jihadists of more than 50 nationalities – from European countries, among others – detained on their soil.
But most Western governments refuse to repatriate all of their citizens detained in prisons and camps under Kurdish control, contenting themselves with repatriations in dribs and drabs.
Experts see the jihadist assault as a step towards the resurgence of the IS group, which retreated to the Syrian desert after its defeat there.