As most of the ISIS members holed up with hostages in the Sina’a Prison in Haseke, northeast Syria, surrendered on Wednesday evening, a small group have been discovered who were hiding and are being called on to surrender as fresh clashes break out, Hawar News reported on Thursday.
“In thorough raids that targeted dormitories where the terrorists were barricaded, our forces forced other batches of Daesh terrorists mutineers and attackers to surrender themselves, half an hour ago, in al-Sina’a prison,” Farhad Shami, head of SDF Media Centre had tweeted on Thursday.
The Sina’a Prison, housing thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, was attacked by hundreds of ISIS members on 27 January as three explosive-laden vehicles were detonated at three target points, and while the attack was mostly repelled, clashes ensued both inside the compound and in nearby neighbourhoods.
More than 200 ISIS fighters were reportedly killed during the six-day clashes with over 30 SDF fighters and more than 40 civilians and prison workers who lost their lives.
The ISIS attack on the prison marked the most comprehensive attack by the group since its military defeat in 2019 at the hands of the SDF, the major armed force of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
The attack was both well-organised, involving the infiltration of many ISIS fighters to the area, mostly from Turkish occupied territories, and was also carried out concurrently with Turkish attacks against Tal Tamr in the same area.
The commander of the international coalition forces, US major general John W. Brennan, Jr. said in a statement:
“This is not a problem solely within this city. This is a global problem that requires many nations to come together to develop an enduring long-term solution.”
The defeat of the ISIS attack has been celebrated in the city of Haseke throughout the night.
