Syria: nearly 90 dead in three days of fighting between Kurdish forces and IS

IS were killed”,”text”:”At least 28 members of the Kurdish security forces, five civilians and 56 IS fighters were killed”}}”>At least 28 members of the Kurdish security forces, five civilians and 56 fighters from the Islamic State armed groupIS were killed since the start of the attack on the Ghwayran prison, one of the largest housing jihadists in Syria, said Rami Abdel Rahmane, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).

On the front line in the fight againstIslamic State armed groupIS, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) dominated by Kurdish fighters and supported by the international anti-jihadist coalition defeated the jihadist group in Syria in 2019 by driving it out of its last stronghold of Baghouz in the province of Deir Ezzor (east).

Despite his defeat, theIslamic State armed groupIS carries out deadly attacks, particularly in the vast Syrian desert, which extends from the central province of Homs to that of Deir Ezzor, on the border with Iraq.

On the night of Thursday to Friday, theIslamic State armed groupIS launched an assault on this prison located in the city of Hassaké, which houses some 3,500 suspected members of theIslamic State armed groupIS including leaders of the group, further affirmed theSyrian Observatory for Human RightsOSDH.

According to the NGO, which has an extensive network of sources in Syria, the jihadists seized weapons they had found in the armory of the detention center.

L’Syrian Observatory for Human RightsOSDH also claimed that the prison was surrounded by Kurdish forces with the support of the air force of the international coalition and that hundreds of prisoners from theIslamic State armed groupIS had been arrested.

Dozens of detainees managed to escape following this attack, the largest since the defeat of theIslamic State armed groupIS in 2019 in Syria, still according to the NGO.

Intense fights took place in areas north of Ghwayran prison, where raids killed more than 20 ISIS fightersIslamic State armed groupIS, according to a press release published on Saturday by the Syrian Democratic ForcesMSDS who seized explosive belts, weapons and ammunition.

The fighting sparked an exodus of civilians from neighborhoods near Ghwayran, and several families fled the area in the cold as Kurdish forces closed in on jihadist targets. Thousands of people have left their homes near the prison, fleeing to nearby areas where their relatives live, told theFrance Media AgencyAFP Sheikhmous Ahmed, an official in the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration.

On Friday, in a press release issued by his news agency Amaq, the jihadist group claimed responsibility for the attack on the prison indicating that the objective of this operation was to free the prisoners.

IS wants to go beyond its status as a terrorist and criminal network and to do this it needs more fighters”,”text”:”IS wants to go beyond its status as a terrorist and criminal network and to to do this, he needs more fighters”}}”>L’Islamic State armed groupIS wants to go beyond its status as a terrorist and criminal network and to do this it needs more fighters, told theFrance Media AgencyAFP Nicholas Heras, of the Newlines Institute in Washington.

IS to regain its strength in arms, and Ghwayran prison is a good target, as it is overcrowded”,”text”:”Prison breaks represent the best opportunity for IS to regain its strength in arms, and Ghwayran prison is a good target, because it is overcrowded”}}”>Prison breaks represent the best opportunity for theIslamic State armed groupIS to regain strength in arms, and Ghwayran prison is a good target, as it is overcrowded, he added.

Many prisons in Syrian Kurdish-controlled areas, where much of the former army of the’Islamic State armed groupIS is detained, were originally schools and therefore ill-suited to hold detainees for long periods.

According to Kurdish authorities, who control large areas of northern Syria, some 12,000 jihadists of more than 50 nationalities are being held in prisons under their control.

Abdelkarim Omar, senior foreign policy official in the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration, said the attack on theIslamic State armed groupIS against Ghwayran prison was due to the inability of the international community to assume its responsibilities.

Triggered in March 2011 by the repression of pro-democracy demonstrations, the war in Syria has become more complex over the years with the involvement of regional and international powers and the rise of jihadists.

The conflict has killed around 500,000 people, devastated the country’s infrastructure and displaced millions of people since its outbreak.