Thursday, March 28

Kurdish Forces Pursue Jihadists After Syria Prison Attack

Kurdish forces continue to search this Thursday for jihadists around a large prison in northeastern Syria, recovered the day before after an attack by the Islamic State (IS) group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH) said.

The Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced Wednesday that it had fully retaken control of Ghwayran prison, ending six days of fighting that left more than 200 dead in the worst jihadist attack in Syria in three. years.

On Thursday, SDF fighters, backed by the US-led anti-jihadist coalition, “have combed the cells and neighborhoods around the prison looking for jihadists,” said the UK-based SOHR, but with a large network of sources in Syria.

“Coalition aircraft attacked IS fighters overnight in areas around the prison, killing at least seven of them,” it added.

The NGO put the number of victims after the attack on this prison on January 20 at 151 jihadists, 53 Kurdish fighters and seven civilians. The prison housed at least 3,500 jihadis when IS launched its assault with truck bombs and heavy weapons.

Prisoners who surrendered were transferred to more secure detention centers, the SDF said.

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