After January 20, when Islamic State in Syria and Levant (Deash) - in an attempt to free prisoners belonging to the group who had mutinied - launched its biggest assault in years on the Ghwayran prison in the Kurdish-controlled city of Hasakah, more than 330 people have been killed in heavy fighting. In the context, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria, said that the death toll has risen to 332, after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) found more than 50 bodies overnight in prison buildings and nearby areas.
The SDF announced they had recaptured the prison on 26 January, but intermittent clashes continued between Kurdish forces and Deash fighters in and around the jail. Kurdish officials estimated that between 60 and 90 Deash fighters were still holed up in the prison basement and ground floor. The Kurdish forces were looking to starve the fighters into surrendering.
The events at the Ghawayran prison were the most high-profile Deash attack since they lost their “caliphate” nearly three years ago.
The Pentagon has stated that the US-led coalition fighting Deash in Syria carried out air strikes and deployed ground troops in support of the SDF operation. A high ranking US officer declared that Daesh remains an existential threat to the region and it must not be allowed to regenerate.
Human Rights Watch says the SDF holds a total of about 12,000 men and boys suspected of Deash affiliation, including 2,000-4,000 foreigners from almost 50 countries. Rights groups asserted that the inmates are held in overcrowded prisons, where conditions are inhumane in many cases, but the Kurdish-led administration denies these allegations.