Dozens of IS prisoners freed in Syria amid clashes between army and Kurdish-led forces
Source: The Guardian
Dozens of IS prisoners freed in Syria amid clashes between army and Kurdish-led forces
Two sides blame each other for release of inmates, as Syria’s president looks to gain control of north-east
Lorenzo Tondo in Jerusalem and Dan Sabbagh in London
Mon 19 Jan 2026 18.39 GMT
First published on Mon 19 Jan 2026 14.46 GMT
Dozens of inmates from a jail holding Islamic State prisoners have been freed in Syria amid clashes between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and government-affiliated forces in the north-east of the country.
Videos released by the SDF showed what it said were IS members being broken out from a jail in Shaddadi by figures in black balaclavas. It said it had lost control of the building after an attack by government-affiliated fighters that killed or wounded dozens.
The Syrian army confirmed the escape late on Monday and imposed a total curfew in Shaddadi, the state news agency Sana reported. But it denied attacking the jail and blamed the SDF for the escapes, saying it would comb the city in search of the militants.
The clashes came less than 24 hours after Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said his government had agreed a ceasefire with the SDF and would move to dismantle the group’s decade-long control of the country’s north-east and dramatically consolidate his rule.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/19/kurdish-led-forces-clashes-syrian-army-prison-holding-is-inmates