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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The U.S. military said it completed a sixth consecutive night of strikes on Iran late on Thursday, targeting logistics infrastructure and maritime capabilities. Iran responded by launching strikes at U.S. bases in neighbouring countries.
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