Hundreds of members of the militant group ISIS are believed to be missing after an attack on Syria's largest prison.
On January 20, from around 7.00pm, an explosion caused by a car bomb marked the start of a six-day attack by ISIS forces on al-Sina prison in Al-Hasakah, Syria.
A total of 374 ISIS fighters are said to have been killed in the attack, along with 77 prison staff, 40 members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and four civilians.
However, in what has become known as one of the largest prison breaks since 2019 when its 'caliphate' was defeated, 400 ISIS fighters are believed to be unaccounted for.
A mixture of Jihadist gunmen and suicide bombers took part in the attack to free members of the Islamist group. According to the MailOnline, Kurdish-led forces said around 400 fighters are still unaccounted for.
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The SDF says the jail held around 3,500 prisoners and roughly 800 young boys known as 'Cubs of the Caliphate'.
Prisoners are thought to have been tipped off about the break-out, after many attacked guards at the same time the onslaught began from outside.
According to the SDF, guards were taken hostage and some were killed with weapons which had been driven into the prison via a number of cars.
A press release by the SDF says the escape plan included the use of tunnels, which had been dug to and from surrounding buildings. 'The Daesh terrorist attack was undoubtedly not a normal attack, and it was part of a long-planned extensive scheme,' they said.
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The SDF said it believes ISIS's plan was to capture 'civil and military institutions' after taking control of the prison and its neighbourhood.
However, 10,000 SDF fighters, alongside special forces from the US and Britain, were deployed to deter the Jihadists. It was only after six days that the operation – named Hammer of Peoples – managed to clear the area of any members of ISIS.
In order to prevent a further prison break, the SDF reassured that all ISIS prisoners who remained in the jail have since been relocated to a destination which is more secure.
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US State Department spokesperson Ned Price applauded the SDF 'for their heroic and effective response to the sustained ISIS attack'.
There are believed to be around 12,000 ISIS suspects held in Kurdish-run prisons. US officials have called on authorities to 'improve the secure and humane detention of ISIS fighters, support rehabilitation initiatives, and urgently repatriate their nationals and other detainees remaining in northeast Syria'.
Looking to allies for support, Abdulkarim Omar, the foreign policy chief of the Kurdish administration, said the threat of ISIS is 'like a fireball, it gets more dangerous and complicated with time'.
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Topics: World News
Poppy Bilderbeck