In an operation that raised the alarm for the return of ISIS to the fore, the terrorist organization succeeded in carrying out its largest operation in years, not targeting civilians, but rather a prison that houses thousands of wanted terrorists
On Thursday night, the terrorist organization ISIS launched an attack on Ghweran prison designated for the detention of ISIS members, in the Syrian city of Hasaka, which is controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, trying to control it after carrying out a series of explosions in the vicinity of the prison that preceded the attack, to facilitate the storming process and the escape of its terrorists from prison
Ghweran prison, designated for the detention of ISIS members, houses more than 3,000 ISIS militants, most of whom are from Syria and Iraq, as well as other nationalities
The ISIS attack began in the early evening hours, with the detonation of car bombs near the main door of the prison, followed by the outbreak of violent clashes with light weapons, between the security forces responsible for the prison, and the attacking ISIS elements after they infiltrated the prison perimeter from the Al-Zohour neighborhood, south of Hasaka
The initial clashes thwarted the attempt by ISIS to reach the prison entrance, and retreated after targeting fuel tanks and 3 fuel tanks in Sadkob, near the prison, to take advantage of its rising smoke to prevent coalition forces from pursuing them
Helicopters and planes belonging to the international coalition against ISIS participated in controlling the situation, and flew extensively over the city, according to eyewitnesses
The media center of the SDF stated that the arrested ISIS terrorists burned the blankets and plastic materials inside the dormitories in an attempt to cause chaos
He added that a number of members of the terrorist cells who attacked the prison from outside the walls fled to the Al-Zohour neighborhood near the prison and hid in civilian homes
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the high death toll from the violent incidents in Ghweran prison and its surroundings and nearby neighborhoods within the city of Hasaka, since Thursday evening, as the death toll rose to 41, including 20 internal security forces, counter-terrorism forces and prison guards, and 16 From ISIS, and 5 civilians, and the death toll is likely to rise due to the presence of a large number of wounded, in addition to information about other fatalities
In the same context, the sources of the Syrian Observatory confirmed that dozens of ISIS prisoners escaped from Ghweran prison and spread in the vicinity of the prison and nearby neighborhoods, after the terrorist organization’s prisoners took control of the prison and the weapons and ammunition inside it, while the violent clashes continue between the two parties until now
It is noteworthy that Ghweran prison holds about 3,500 prisoners of ISIS elements and leaders, and it is the largest prison for the organization in the whole world
The observatory reported that the military forces continued combing the vicinity of the prison and the neighborhoods near it, amid continuous flight of international coalition aircraft, and the sounds of shooting were heard in the area there
Rami Eid al-Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said in an interview with “Sky News Arabia”: “This bloody attack is the heaviest and largest operation carried out by ISIS since 2019, and it is carefully and extensively equipped, as ISIS now controls the majority of Ghweran prison, which is the largest A prison holding ISIS in the world.
Abdul Rahman added: “At least 16 ISIS militants were killed in the violent clashes that continue so far, while 20 members of the Asayish security forces and prison guards were killed
This operation is the most violent that ISIS has carried out for 3 years. It raises again legitimate questions. Why, for example, are all these ISIS terrorists detained in the middle of a large city like Hasaka? And in an area that has always been largely an incubator for ISIS, and why are there no extensive security measures to protect this prison? Which holds at least 3,500 ISIS prisoners