The toll since the January 20 assault on Ghwayran prison in Hassaké has been terrible and could continue to grow. The attack by Islamic State (IS) jihadists on this prison in northeastern Syria and the fighting between them and Kurdish forces left 373 dead, according to the latest figures given Sunday evening by the Syrian Observatory for Rights. of Man (OSDH).
According to this NGO, to the vast network of sources in Syria, 268 jihadists, 98 members of the Kurdish forces and 7 civilians died. “The assessment is provisional because there are dozens of mutilated corpses that could not be identified,” said Rami Abdel Rahmane, director of the OSDH.
Prisoners on the run
Earlier in the day, the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced the end of combing operations in the prison. Spearheading the fight against jihadists in Syria, the FDS declared on Wednesday that they had regained control of the prison, after six days of intense fighting. But sporadic fighting then pitted them against IS jihadists, both inside and outside the establishment.
According to the OSDH, 20 jihadists surrendered overnight from Saturday to Sunday, and five others died in fighting within the prison. The FDS are investigating the circumstances of the IS attack, assured the OSDH. “Dozens of IS detainees managed to escape (…) in the first hours of the attack”, also specified the NGO.