ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Iraqi National Security Advisor claimed on Thursday that 20 “dangerous” members of the Islamic State (ISIS) managed to escape during a prison break attempt in Hasaka, northeast Syria (Rojava) late last month.
Qassim al-Araji received the European Union Ambassador to Iraq Ville Varjola on Thursday, where he called on European countries to repatriate their ISIS-affiliated nationals in Rojava’s al-Hol camp, according to a statement by Araji.
ISIS attacked al-Sina’a prison in Hasaka on January 20 with explosive-laden vehicles and other weapons. This caused over a week of intense clashes between ISIS fighters and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The prison was retaken by the SDF with the support of the global coalition against ISIS, and the recaptured prisoners were transferred to another prison.
“The presence of this large number of terrorists in SDF prisons, with poor capabilities, constitutes a constant and permanent danger if the international community does not fulfill its duties,” Araji told the EU diplomat on Thursday.
“Twenty dangerous terrorists managed to escape from Hasaka prison,” he claimed.
The SDF held over 4,000 ISIS prisoners, including minors, before the attack. The forces said that 121 of its fighters, prison guards and civilians as well as 374 ISIS members were killed in the clashes without confirming any alleged escapes.
Rudaw English has approached the SDF for comment regarding Araji’s claim.
The Hasaka prison break attempt has alerted Iraqi and Kurdistan Region governments who share borders with Rojava.
