Islamic State terrorists surrender to Kurds at captured, child-filled prison

The Kurdish-led SDF have beaten off Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terrorists at the al-Sina’a prison in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasaka. 

In a tweet on Wednesday, spokesman Farhad Shami confirmed the victory, stating that all IS militants had surrendered just hours after 500 handed themselves over following earlier clashes.

“Game Over Daesh,” he wrote in a subsequent tweet.

Shami shared photos from the prison in the aftermath of the battle. 

His tweets made no reference to the 850 children and minors the UN children’s agency believes to have been caught in clashes at the prison complex.

UNICEF has registered its concern for the fate of the children who had been living alongside some 5,000 prisoners since it was seized by militants last Thursday.

“Every day counts. It’s very hard to even imagine what atrocities these children are witnessing,” UNICEF’s Middle East and North Africa regional advocacy and communications head, Juliette Touma, said on Tuesday. 

The children, who had reportedly been detained for suspected links to IS during the US-backed campaign in 2019, were being held in a dormitory at the facility. The SDF said IS militants had been holed up in the building. 

The Kurdish-led forces claimed the children were being used as a “human shield.”

Sina’a prison is the largest facility operated by the SDF.