HASAKA, Syria:Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces repelled an Islamic State attack on a prison to break out inmates with the support of air strikes by a U.S.-led coalition, officials said on Friday.
Islamic State said via Telegram its militants had waged a wide-scale attack on the prison in northeastern Syria since Thursday night, and that clashes were ongoing nearby and in other neighbourhoods.
SDF General Commander Mazloum Abdi said on Twitter however that “the area around the prison was completely surrounded and all fugitives were arrested”.
In Washington, the Pentagon confirmed that the U.S.-led coalition had carried out air strikes in support of the SDF as they dealt with the prison break.
A military source in the Kurdish-led forces said they killed 23 Islamic State militants including foreigners in the clashes after the jihadist group attempted to free prisoners from the jail in Hasaka.
Seven members of the SDF and an allied security force called the Asayish were killed in the attack, the SDF military source said. The SDF said it had detained 89 militants in the area of the prison.
Islamic State controlled swathes of Syria and Iraq until it was driven from the territory in 2017-19 by adversaries including a U.S.-led coalition, the SDF, and Iraqi security forces. Islamic State cells continue to carry out attacks in both countries.
It was the second time since December that Islamic State had attacked the prison in an effort to free inmates.
The SDF military source said the attack on the prison coincided with Islamic State attacks in Iraq and what he described as movements by the militant group in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zor.
“Islamic State is trying to impose its control on the area and to revive its organisation once again,” the source said.
In Iraq, 11 Iraqi soldiers including an officer were killed on Friday when militants attacked their base in Diyala province, Iraqi Defence Minister Jouma Anad said on Twitter.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in Diyala on Friday on its affiliated Telegram channels.
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