Two Islamic State leaders among hundreds of terrorists who escaped Hasakah prison

Two leaders of the Islamic State (ISIS) were among hundreds of terrorists who escaped from Al-Sina’a prison in the Ghweran neighborhood of Hasakah, northeastern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

The SOHR said in a statement on Sunday that two ISIS leaders were among hundreds of ISIS terrorists who managed to escape from Ghweran prison in Hasakah, northeastern Syria.

The SOHR indicated that some of the escapees arrived in Turkey, and some of them are hiding in the areas under the control of the Autonomous Administration in Hasakah, Al-Raqqa, Deir Ezzor, and Manbij in the countryside of Aleppo.

The observatory quoted sources as saying that two of ISIS emirs who were detained in Al-Sina’a / Ghweran prison are now in Jarablus,” adding that “their arrival from Al-Hasakah to Raqqa and then Manbij and from there to Jarablus raises many question marks.”

It also indicated that “the security forces were able to arrest a smuggler and 3 fugitives in the village of Heisha in the Ain Issa region, north of Raqqa when they were staying with a smuggler waiting to be entered into Turkey for 4,000 US dollars for each person,” noting that the three elements were in contact with “the two Emirs who arrived in the Jarablus area in the countryside of Aleppo.”

According to the SOHR, the security services arrested two women working within the Civil Administration while they were trying to escape towards Turkey and catch up with their husbands who recently escaped from Al-Sina’a prison, but their arrest lasted more than 24 hours, before they were released by the mediation of sheiks and clan elders.

The Islamic State group’s Jan. 20 attack on the prison was the biggest military operation by the extremist group since the fall of their self-declared caliphate in 2019.

It came as the militants staged deadly attacks in both Syria and Iraq that stoked fears that IS may be staging a comeback.

The weeklong assault on one of the largest detention facilities in Syria has turned the city of Hasakah into a conflict zone. The Kurdish-led administration declared a curfew and sealed off the city, barring movement in and out.

Thousands of people in Hasakah were displaced because of the fighting.

The SDF claimed it had regained full control of the prison — a week after scores of militants overran the facility.

The attackers allowed some to escape but also took hostages, including child detainees, and clashed with SDF fighters in violence that killed dozens.

Source: SOHR