HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – Clashes between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) with aerial support of the US-led Global Coalition on one hand and the Islamic State Organization (ISIS) sleeper cells with escaper detainees are still continuing in the vicinity of al-Sina’a prison in Guweiran neighborhood in Hasakah, northeast Syria, following an attack by the ISIS sleeper cells aiming at succeeding a mass escape attempt from the prison.
Yesterday, the SDF imposed a security cordon on the vicinity of al-Sina’a prison, against the backdrop of a riot carried out by ISIS sleeper cells, coinciding with three explosions near the prison.
Meanwhile, members of ISIS sleeper cells targeted the guards of al-Sina’a prison, as a result of which two guards were wounded, North Press correspondent quoted a security source.
Intermittent clashes took place in the vicinity of the prison and on the outskirts of al-Zohour neighborhood, south Hasakah, after ISIS members fled to it.
The US Central Command said it was monitoring developments in al-Sina’a prison in Hasaka.
Mass exodus of the residents
The ongoing clashes between the SDF and ISIS sleeper cells caused a mass exodus of the residents of the neighborhoods of Guweiran, al-Nashwa, Villat Hawsh al-Ba’er, and Villat al-Hamr, to the central and northern neighborhoods of Hasakah.
North Press Agency correspondent, Jindar Abdulqader, sustained a shoulder injury while covering the developments of the ongoing clashes.
Meanwhile, Hawar News Agency ANHA (active in northeast Syria) correspondent, Basel Rashid, also received two bullets, one in the chest and one in the abdomen, in addition to injuries in separate parts of his body due to shrapnel.
The SDF fighters hurried to transfer them to the nearest military hospital in the city.
The SDF Media Center pointed out that ISIS “mercenaries” didn’t allow roughly 289 families leave al-Zohour neighborhood west the prison to reach safe area under the SDF control.
In the meantime, the aircraft of the Us-led Global Coalition targeted a gathering of the ISIS inmates in al-Zohour neighborhood in Hasakah, according to locals.
While others managed to leave the Guweiran neighborhood and gathered in an area near the Beiruti Bridge in the city.
North Press was unable to obtain accurate statistics of the victims of the attack, while a source in the Internal Security Forces of North and East Syria (Asayish) spoke of at least three civilians killed.
Internal settling scores
On Friday afternoon, the aircraft of the Us-led Global Coalition targeted a gathering of the ISIS inmates in al-Zohour neighborhood.
The Coalition target was preceded by intermittent clashes took place in the vicinity of the prison and on the outskirts of al-Zohour neighborhood, after ISIS members fled to it.
The General Command of the Asayish imposed a total curfew on the city of Hasakah, and blocked of entry and exit to the city.
The statement said the closure will continue until further notice, due to the recent events in the city of Hasakah of the attack of ISIS cells on al-Sina’a prison in an attempt to secure the escape of ISIS inmates.
This was accompanied by a threat to the security and safety of all neighborhoods of the city, with cells trying to hide among civilians, according to the statement.
An infighting erupted among ISIS prisoners inside the Guweiran prison where a group of ISIS prisoners killed 7 members tried to surrender to our forces, according to the SDF Media Center.
The SDF arrested about 110 ISIS inmates, who had managed to escape from al-Sina’a prison.
The SDF forces returned them to one of its prisons in the area.
The SDF managed to pull two bodies of ISIS members who were killed during the clashes in the vicinity of al-Sina’a prison and the nearby neighborhoods, one of them was of Asian nationality.
Mass escape attempt
The Sina’a prison in the city of Hasakah, one of the prisons that contains thousands of ISIS detainees, witnessed several unsuccessful escape attempts and jailbreaks by ISIS inmates the last of which was launched in October 2021, so that the Asayish blocked all the roads leading to al-Sina’a prison coinciding with aerial support by the US-led Global Coalition.
The prison is located on the outskirts of the Guweiran neighborhood at the southern entrance to the city of Hasakah, and it is one of the prisons in which the SDF is holding about 4,000 foreigners from about 50 countries.
Yesterday’s attack is the most elaborate attempt of mass escape from the prison since the announcement of ISIS defeat three years ago in Baghouz town in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor.
In April 2020, the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS said that it delivered riot gear equipment to local Internal Security Forces in northeastern Syria to confront riots that may occur and protect detention centers in the region.
In May 2021, the SDF with the support of the Coalition finished security and health organizational and technical operations in al-Sina’a prison.
The operations, which took place between May 7 and 12 included examining the prison building, reorganizing the detainees’ registry, repairing the security techniques within dormitories in addition to taking more appropriate security measures.
In September 2021, ISIS inmates in the same prison launched a riot and the Rapid Deployment Forces of the SDF cordoned off the surrounding area of the prison.
A delegation of the Coalition entered the prison at the time amidst security alert in its vicinity.
Demands of ISIS detainees were limited to disclosing their fate whether they would be trailed or not, North Press correspondent quoted a source from the prison.
The SDF demand the establishment of well-constructed prisons that secure better guard for hundreds of ISIS militants.
Iraq attack
Meanwhile, ISIS militants launched an attack on Friday on an area in Diyala Governorate killing 11 Iraqi soldiers including an officer.
The Joint Operations Command mourned the officer and soldiers of the first Company, 2nd Infantry Brigade of the 1st Division in the Iraqi Army in al-Azim district affiliated with Diyala Governorate.
The Iraqi army vowed that the attackers would receive “just retribution soon” and stressed that the response would be “tough.”
In statement to media, Brigadier-General Yahya Rasoul, spokesman for Iraq’s joint operations command, stressed the necessity of activating the intelligence efforts and implementing preemptive operations against the ISIS sleeper cells.
Turkish drones launched an attack near Shilo valley targeting two vehicles in Shangal (Sinjar), a security source of Shangal, west of the Iraqi Governorate Nineveh, said on Friday.
The Turkish drones targeted two vehicles and set fire to them, a source told North Press.
The attack claimed lives of two fighters of Shangal Resistance Unitsin addition to wounding two others, according to the source.
In December, the SDF Media Center announced that their forces, with the support of the US-led Global Coalition, managed to arrest one of the most dangerous ISIS Emirs, Mohammed Abid al-Awad, who committed massacres in all regions of Syria and led and schemed the attack plan on Guweiran prison in Hasakah.
The attack plan suggested to launch broad-scale terrorist operations with VBIEDs to be exploded in the gate of the prison and then breaking into it with 14 suicide bombers, entering explosives and weapons, 165 Kalashnikovs, a full packet of ammunition and bombs to be distributed to the detainees after breaking the gates and causing chaos, and then controlling the prison and the surrounding area.
Despite the announcement of the arrest of the sleeper cell al-Awad ran, ISIS attacked, yesterday, the area with the support of other sleeper cells.
Meanwhile, the clashes are still continuing in al-Zohour neighborhood, and SDF with the support of the US-led Global Coalition flight are targeting certain sites.