Dozens of IS fighters launch attack on Syrian prison, setting off major riot inside

"There was heavy fighting between prison security forces and IS fighters trying to enter the prison and from the surrounding area," a Syrian Democratic Forces commander tells Sky News.

Image: Islamic State fighters who were arrested after the prison was attacked. Pic: SDF via AP

Fighting is continuing at the world’s largest prison for IS fighters after an attempted breakout on Thursday, in the most violent clashes since the defeat of its self-declared caliphate in 2019.

Video from the scene shows smoke rising from Ghweiran prison in Syria and heavy exchanges of gunfire.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the Kurdish northeast of the country are battling to regain control of the jail after a car bomb exploded outside the walls on Thursday, setting off a major riot inside.

US forces in the country are helping to track down IS hideouts nearby using attack helicopters and air surveillance.

Among those killed were 20 soldiers and five civilians. Foreign fighters reportedly died too.

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Image: The belongings of some Islamic State fighters. Pic: SDF via AP

Suicide car bomb was used

SDF commander Siamand Ali told Sky News: “Dozens of IS fighters launched an attack on the prison.

“They used a suicide car bomb which exploded at the front entrance of the prison. There was heavy fighting between prison security forces and IS fighters trying to enter the prison and from the surrounding area.

“Counter terrorism forces and SDF managed to kill 25 IS fighters who launched the attack on the prison and more than 80 IS prisoners were arrested.”

Gunfire could still be heard almost 24 hours after the initial attack took place, he added.

Officially, local authorities have denied that any IS fighters have escaped, but the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said its sources believe “dozens” have fled.

Sky sources in northeast Syria have reported dozens of families leaving the surrounding area, frightened they will be caught up in the fighting or used as human shields by IS fugitives.

There are also reports that a college campus near the prison has been seized by Islamic State.

The jail holds around three-and-a-half thousand IS prisoners and is one of many in the region housing former members of the group.

Image: Iraqi soldiers are still subject to attacks by Islamic State militants. File pic

Prisons overcrowded and inadequate

Kurdish forces have pleaded to the international community for help in securing the facilities but little assistance has been forthcoming, leaving the prisons in a precarious position.

Many are overcrowded and inadequate for holding violent terrorists; sporadic riots break out but are usually quickly crushed.

Last year, a United Nations report estimated 10,000 Islamic State fighters were still free in Iraq and Syria and warned that the organisation is re-grouping.

Sleeping soldiers murdered in Iraq

Meanwhile, eleven Iraqi soldiers were killed in their sleep by Islamic State gunmen, security officials said.

The attack happened at 3am on Friday in al Azim district, eastern Iraq, officials told the AP news agency.

IS militants broke into the barracks and murdered the sleeping soldiers in what was one of the deadliest attacks on the Iraqi military in recent months.

Reinforcements were reportedly sent to the village but no further details were given and there was no comment from the Iraqi military.

Islamic State was largely defeated in Iraq in 2017 but the group’s militants continue to attack security forces, and infrastructure such as power stations.

In October the Sunni extremist group raided a mostly Shia village in Diyala province, killing 11 civilians and injuring several others.

According to officials, the militants had been angry that their ransom demands for kidnapped villagers had not been met.

The extremists have also increased their attacks in neighbouring Syria, where they once based their self-styled caliphate before being ousted by an international coalition.