Uneasy calm prevails outskirts of al-Sinaa prison in Syria’s Hasakah
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – For the second day in a row, the security forces tightened measures in the vicinity of al-Sinaa prison, which holds Islamic State (ISIS) detainees, in Hasakah, a governorate northeastern Syria.
A security source told North Press that received intelligence indicated a possible move by an ISIS sleeper cell to carry out attacks in the area.
North Press correspondent said security forces partially opened a road near the prison, and things seemed stable, both inside and outside the prison, with a state of an uneasy calm in the area.
On Sunday, a security source said, “The security measures in Hasakah are taken just in case something happens inside al-Sinaa Prison or in its vicinity.”
These measures came in tandem with obtained information, indicating preparations for a possible mutiny in the prisons and in the Hawl Camp, east of Hasakah, which holds around 50.000 of the family members of ISIS militants, according to the security source.
On Jan. 20, 2022, the group’s sleeper cells carried out a series of attacks on al-Sinaa prison, where thousands of ISIS members were held, to set free their fellow inmates.
The prison attack sparked a 10-day battle between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and ISIS militants and caused a mass exodus of residents of the neighborhoods of Guweiran, al-Zuhour, al-Nashwa, and Villat al-Hamr to the central and northern neighborhoods of Hasakah.
On Jan. 30 of the same year, the SDF announced taking full control of al-Sinaa prison.
On Jan. 31, the General Command of the SDF uncovered the toll of casualties of the ISIS attack, 374 ISIS militants were killed, and 121 people, including 77 employees and workers of the prison, 40 SDF members and four civilians, were killed.