HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – About 400 meters away from al-Sinaa prison in Hasakah city, which houses militants of the Islamic State (ISIS), the 47-year-old Abdullah al-Muhammad and his family live in constant anxiety because of fears that the ISIS detainees could escape and infiltrate the neighborhoods, as happened months ago.
The fears of al-Muhammad, a resident of al-Zuhour neighborhood in Hasakah city, northeastern Syria, have intensified over the past period, with Turkey’s recent threats to launch a ground military operation against areas in northern Syria. The threats coincided with heavy artillery and airstrikes against the region.
Following the Turkish attacks, which started at November 20, and Ankara’s threats of an invasion, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) suspended its anti-ISIS campaign to prepare for a potential incursion by Turkey.
On January 20, the organization’s sleeper cells carried out a series of attacks on al-Sinaa prison, where thousands of ISIS members are detained, to set free their fellow inmates.
The prison attack sparked a 10-day battle between the SDF and ISIS militants and caused a mass exodus of residents of the neighborhoods of al-Ghweran, al-Zuhour, al-Nashwa, and Villat al-Hamr to the central and northern neighborhoods of Hasakah. On January 30, the SDF announced taking full control of al-Sinaa prison.
Several prisons, where about 12.000 ISIS militants are held, spread in areas held by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) in northeast Syria. The AANES also oversees the Hawl Camp, east of Hasakah city, which is home to nearly 55.000 of the family members of the ISIS militants.
Residents of Hasakah do not rule out an ISIS attack should Turkey launch its ground offensive. They believe that the terrorist group’s cells would take advantage of the Turkish invasion and the SDF’s suspension of its anti-ISIS mission to smuggle the extremist organization’s affiliates out of prisons and the Hawl Camp.
The man describes the prison as a “ticking time bomb”, expressing his fears of another prison break, if Turkey implements its threats.
Following the recent Turkish escalation, ISIS operatives took advantage of the SDF’s preoccupation with the Turkish attacks against the region, to launch operations in northeastern Syria and make public appearances.
ISIS published on Friday, through close media outlets, photos for its militants carrying weapons nearby an armored vehicle in Syria days after the SDF suspended its operations against the organization.
The photos showed ISIS militants with four-wheel drive vehicles, and light and heavy weapons.
Al-Muhammad, father of eight, fears that he would be forced to flee his home, as happened when the ISIS cells launched an attack on the prison at the beginning of this year.
“We live in a real terror. We do not know what moment they will escape and attack us,” al-Muhammad stressed.
The 54-year-old Salem al-Awad, whose house is 5 kilometers away from the al-Sinaa prison, voiced concern over the recent uptick of ISIS’ activity in the countryside of Deir ez-Zor following the death of its former leader. On November 30, ISIS announced that its overall leader Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi was killed and named Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi a new leader for the group.
Since November 20 and up to now, ISIS has claimed responsibility for eight attacks against SDF fighters in Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor, which presents an evident spike in the organization’s action, exploiting chaos in the region caused by the recent Turkish attacks.
On November 30, the AANES’ Office of Justice and Reform Affairs announced a state of readiness and alert after obtaining information that ISIS is preparing for a potential attack against a prison in the city of Qamishli, where fellow militants are held.
Al-Awad, a resident of al-Musherfa neighborhood in Hasakah, has growing fears that ISIS will exploit the potential Turkish operation to attack and destroy the country. “We are afraid of ISIS”.
Additionally, the repeated Turkish threats and attacks paralyze shopping and aggravate the already languished lives.