Syria's Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that about 120 Islamic State detainees escaped from Shaddadi prison, after the Kurdish website Rudaw reported that a spokesperson for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Farhad Shami, said around 1,500 Islamic State members had escaped.
The Syrian ministry said Syrian army units and ministry special forces entered Shaddadi following the breakout. It said security forces had recaptured 81 of the escapees after search and sweep operations in the town and surrounding areas, with efforts continuing to arrest the remaining fugitives.
Earlier, the Syrian army said "a number of" Islamic State militants had escaped a prison that had been under SDF control in the eastern city of Shaddadi, accusing the SDF of releasing them.
After days of fighting with government forces, the SDF agreed on Sunday to withdraw from both Raqqa and Deir al-Zor, two Arab-majority provinces they had controlled for years and the location of Syria's main oil fields.
Meanwhile, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed developments in Syria during a phone call on Monday (19 January), including Kurdish rights and cooperation against Islamic State, the Syrian presidency said.
According to the presidency, both leaders stressed the need to preserve the rights of Kurdish people within the Syrian state and agreed to continue working together to combat Islamic State.
The call came a day after Damascus signed a wide-ranging integration agreement with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), aimed at incorporating Kurdish civilian and military structures into state institutions.
Despite the deal, tensions persisted on Monday in parts of northern Syria, underscoring the fragility of the arrangement following days of fighting.
The agreement marks a significant shift in Syria’s political and security landscape, as Damascus moves to reassert control over territory previously held by the SDF, once the main U.S. ally in the country.
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U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Iran, saying American forces could strike Iranian power plants if the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Israel has also signalled it will step up military action in the region, raising fears of a wider escalation.
Palestinians have reported a surge in attacks by Israeli settlers on homes, vehicles, and residents across the West Bank, amid growing international criticism.
Belgium has marked the 10th-anniversary of the 2016 Brussels terror attacks, remembering the victims of the country’s deadliest peacetime attack and reflecting on changes to national security.
A drone attack on a hospital in East Darfur, Sudan, has killed at least 64 people and injured 89 more, the World Health Organisation (WHO) reported on Saturday.
Carlos Ray “Chuck” Norris, the martial artist, actor and cultural icon best known for his roles in action films and the long-running CBS series Walker, Texas Ranger, has died at the age of 86.
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Slovenia heads to the polls on Sunday (22 March) in a closely contested race between incumbent Prime Minister Robert Golob and right-wing former Prime Minister Janez Janša.
Italy is voting on 22 and 23 March in a judicial reform referendum that could reshape the justice system and test Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s political strength ahead of the 2027 general election.
Palestinians have reported a surge in attacks by Israeli settlers on homes, vehicles, and residents across the West Bank, amid growing international criticism.
Iran has launched long-range and intermediate-range ballistic missiles towards the joint U.S.-UK military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, in what Israeli officials said was a major escalation in the war.
U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Iran, saying American forces could strike Iranian power plants if the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Israel has also signalled it will step up military action in the region, raising fears of a wider escalation.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. was considering "winding down" its military operation against Iran, as Iran and Israel traded attacks on Saturday (21 March) and Iranian media said the nuclear enrichment facility in Natanz had been attacked.
The U.S. President’s Board of Peace has presented Hamas with a written proposal on disarmament, two sources said, a step the group has so far refused as Washington presses ahead with its plan for Gaza’s future.
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