The Syrian Interior Ministry reported that about 200 Islamic State militants escaped from a prison in the city of Al-Shaddadi. 130 escapees have already been detained, and the search for the others is ongoing.
Al-Jazeera writes about this.
Government forces took control of Al-Shaddadi after a January 18 agreement with the Syrian Kurdistan Regional Government to integrate the region. The agreement followed a two-day offensive by government forces in the autonomous region. Under the same agreement, the central government is to take control of prisons where more than 8 000 members of the Islamic State are being held.
At the same time, the Kurdish media outlet Rudaw, citing a spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, reports that about 1 500 ISIS fighters have escaped. The Syrian government accuses the Kurds of releasing the prisoners. The Kurds say that it was forces affiliated with the government that did it.
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