ISIS militants retain toehold in Syrian prison

US attack helicopter shoots flares in Hassakeh, northeast Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022. Dozens of armed Islamic State militants remained holed up in the last occupied section of a Syrian prison, U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces said Thursday. The two sides clashed a day after the Syrian Democratic Forces announced they had regained full control of the facility. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)
US attack helicopter shoots flares in Hassakeh, northeast Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022. Dozens of armed Islamic State militants remained holed up in the last occupied section of a Syrian prison, U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces said Thursday. The two sides clashed a day after the Syrian Democratic Forces announced they had regained full control of the facility. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)

BEIRUT -- Dozens of armed Islamic State militants remained holed up in the last occupied section of a Syrian prison, U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces said Thursday. The two sides clashed a day after the Syrian Democratic Forces announced that they had regained full control of the facility.

Fighting between the armed extremists and Syrian Democratic Forces troops left at least two Islamic extremists dead Thursday, the Syrian Democratic Forces said in a statement. It said 60 to 90 militants were hiding out in the northern section of the prison in the northeastern city of Hassakeh.

The weeklong assault on one of the largest detention facilities in Syria has turned Hassakeh into a conflict zone. The Kurdish-led administration declared a curfew and sealed off the city, barring movement in and out.

On Thursday, the administration announced a full curfew until Tuesday in areas it governs in Deir el-Zour province to the south, citing security concerns. Only essential services were allowed to operate.

Thousands have been displaced because of the violence that began with a bold attack on the prison on Jan. 20. There were overnight celebrations in the city, including fireworks, after news that the prison had been recaptured.

There are over 600 child detainees in the facility that houses more than 3,000 inmates.

The Kurdish officials have not provided specific numbers of the facility's population.

In a statement, the Syrian Democratic Forces said the children had been kept in separate dormitories from the adults as an "interim measure" for their safety until a solution for them is found.

The Kurdish-led forces appealed to the U.N. and member states to "search for genuine solutions by repatriating non-Syrian children, rehabilitating them."

A coalition official said Thursday that detainees of the prison known as Gweiran or al-Sinaa are being secured in a "new, hardened facility" nearby where biometrics will be used by the Syrian Democratic Forces to enroll them.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the coalition continues to advise and assist the Syrian Democratic Forces in the operation. The militants had also targeted the new facility in their initial assault but failed.

  photo  Syrian Democratic Forces fighters escort suspected Islamic State militants in Hassakeh, northeast Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022. Dozens of armed Islamic State militants remained holed up in the last occupied section of a Syrian prison, U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces said Thursday. The two sides clashed a day after the Syrian Democratic Forces announced they had regained full control of the facility. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)
 
 
  photo  Syrian Democratic Forces fighters escort suspected Islamic State militants in Hassakeh, northeast Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022. Dozens of armed Islamic State militants remained holed up in the last occupied section of a Syrian prison, U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces said Thursday. The two sides clashed a day after the Syrian Democratic Forces announced they had regained full control of the facility. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)
 
 
  photo  Syrian Democratic Forces fighters walk in a field in Hassakeh, northeast Syria, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022. Dozens of armed Islamic State militants remained holed up in the last occupied section of a Syrian prison, U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces said Thursday. The two sides clashed a day after the Syrian Democratic Forces announced they had regained full control of the facility. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad)
 
 

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