Sun 30 January 2022:
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, clashes occurred between Kurdish forces and Islamic State members near a jail in Syria. Dozens of jihadists are locked up in the prison where the battle broke out.
On Saturday, an AFP correspondent saw a truck carrying piles of bodies away from the area near the prison, corpses believed likely to be those of IS fighters.
A bulldozer dumped more bodies inside the truck, which then headed to an unknown location.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stated on Wednesday that they had recaptured the jail, but that mop-up operations were still underway.
On Saturday, there were “clashes in the vicinity of the prison between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Kurdish security forces on the one hand, and members of IS who are hiding in the area,” the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The IS gunmen are in “cellars that are difficult to target with air strikes or infiltrate” the Observatory said.
SDF officials estimate that between 60 and 90 IS fighters were still in the basement and the ground floor above it.
According to an AFP correspondent, US troops and Kurdish-led forces surrounded the building and stationed snipers on neighboring roofs, with occasional shooting.
The SDF announced on Wednesday that 3,500 IS members had surrendered, but that a small number of IS fighters had barricaded themselves inside the prison.
Since the beginning of the attack, Kurdish-led troops have prohibited media from freely entering the Ghwayran area or reaching the prison.
According to the Observatory, more least 260 individuals have died in the combat, including 180 jihadists, 73 Kurdish-led fighters, and seven civilians. The death toll is certain to rise.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:
TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent
FACEBOOK (CLICK HERE)
https://web.facebook.com/ipindependent
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
