The assault by the Islamic State (IS) group on a prison in northeastern Syria and the fighting between jihadists and Kurdish forces have left 332 dead since January 20, according to a new report announced on Sunday by the Syrian Observatory of human rights.
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Sporadic new clashes took place on Saturday between Kurdish forces, backed by American forces, and IS members still at large near Ghwayran prison where at least 3,500 jihadists of different nationalities were detained in the city of Hassaké, according to the NGO.
The OSDH indicated on Sunday that the attack of January 20, the most important of the EI since its defeat three years ago, and the fighting which followed, left 332 dead including 246 jihadists, 79 members of the Kurdish forces and seven civilians.
The rise in the death toll is due to the discovery of new corpses during search operations by Kurdish forces in the prison buildings and adjacent areas, according to the Observatory.
The director of the OSDH, Rami Abdel Rahmane, specified that the corpses were discovered inside and around the penitentiary center, located in an area under the control of the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration.
For the Observatory, the toll is likely to increase as new bodies are discovered and many Kurdish fighters have been seriously injured.
Mr. Abdel Rahman also reported, on the basis of “confirmed information”, the discovery of 22 new corpses, which have not yet been identified.
On Saturday, an AFP videographer saw corpses, probably of IS members killed in the fighting, piled into a truck, then a bulldozer dumped other bodies into it.
Spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF, dominated by Kurdish fighters) Farhad Shami said the bodies would be buried in “isolated” areas controlled by Kurdish forces.
Kurdish forces regained control of the prison and hundreds of jihadists, including fleeing prisoners and attackers, surrendered or were arrested according to the OSDH.
But dozens of IS members are still entrenched, particularly in the northern part of the prison, “difficult to target from the air or access by land”, specifies the Observatory.
Mr Shami warned that if they did not surrender, Kurdish forces would consider a “military” solution.