Kurds signal end to ‘fine comb’ in Syrian prison attacked by IS

Members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) head to the Ghwayran prison in the Syrian city of Hassake (north) on January 26, 2022 – AFP

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), dominated by the Kurds, announced this Sunday (30) the end of the campaign of tracking operations in the prison attacked by the Islamic State (IS) group in Hassake (northwest Syria).

“We announce the end of the tracking campaign in the Ghwayran prison, in Hassaké, and in the strongholds where IS fighters had entrenched themselves”, located in the northern part of the detention centre, the SDF said in a statement.

A vanguard in the fight against IS in Syria, the SDF declared on Wednesday that it had regained control of the prison after six days of intense fighting. But later, sporadic fighting pitted them against the IS jihadists, both inside and outside the prison.

However, combing operations continue in the Hassaké neighborhoods adjacent to the prison, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), which has a wide network of sources in Syria.

According to this NGO, twenty jihadists surrendered at dawn from Saturday to Sunday, and another five died in fighting inside the prison.

The OSDH said the SDF was investigating the circumstances of the IS attack, the most important since its defeat three years ago. “Dozens of IS prisoners managed to escape (…) in the early hours of the attack,” the NGO added.

According to the balance established this Sunday by the OSDH, the attack on the prison and the subsequent fighting left 332 dead, including 246 jihadists, 79 members of the Kurdish forces and seven civilians.