Syria’s Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that around 120 Islamic State (IS) detainees escaped from Shaddadi prison, rejecting earlier reports by a Kurdish media outlet that claimed the number was significantly higher.
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The statement came after the Kurdish website Rudaw reported that a spokesperson for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Farhad Shami, had said approximately 1,500 IS members escaped from the facility.
According to the Syrian Interior Ministry, Syrian army units and special forces were immediately deployed to Shaddadi following the prison break. Security forces have since recaptured 81 escapees during search and sweep operations in the town and surrounding areas, while efforts continue to apprehend the remaining fugitives.
Earlier, the Syrian army said that “a number of” IS militants had escaped from the prison, which had been under SDF control, and accused the SDF of facilitating their release.
The incident comes amid shifting control in eastern Syria. After several days of fighting with government forces, the SDF agreed on Sunday to withdraw from Raqqa and Deir al-Zor, two Arab-majority provinces they had controlled for years and which host Syria’s main oil fields.
The withdrawal marks a significant development in Syria’s evolving security landscape, particularly in regions previously held by the SDF and long considered vulnerable to Islamic State activity.
