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. Vice President JD Vance has arrived in Armenia, marking the first time a sitting U.S. vice president or president has visited the country, as Washington seeks to deepen engagement in the South Caucasus and advance a U.S.-brokered peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Pressure is mounting on UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer amid resignations and a row over Peter Mandelson, a powerful figure in the ruling Labour Party. The episode has raised doubts about Starmer’s authority and how firmly his own party continues to back him.
Chinese authorities have quietly signalled a shift in strategy, instructing some state-owned banks to rein in their purchases of U.S. government bonds.
Convicted Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell refused to answer questions before Congress, while her lawyer said she could clear President Donald Trump of wrongdoing if granted clemency.
U.S. President Donald Trump has criticised American freestyle skier Hunter Hess after the athlete said he felt conflicted about representing the United States at the Winter Olympics in Italy, sparking a public clash that highlights growing political tensions surrounding the Games.
U.S. skiing great Lindsey Vonn underwent surgery in an Italian hospital on Sunday after her attempt to win Olympic downhill gold ended in a violent crash just seconds into the race at the Milano Cortina Winter Games.
Several avalanches struck northern Italy on Saturday, killing at least three people, as rescue officials warned the death toll could rise with unstable conditions persisting across the Alps.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner visited the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea on Saturday after completing a round of talks with Iran.
Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight on Saturday, marking the second such strike in less than a week, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Iran’s atomic energy chief says Tehran could dilute uranium enriched to 60 per cent if all international sanctions are lifted, stressing that technical nuclear issues are being discussed alongside political matters in ongoing negotiations.
NATO member Türkiye has dispatched several military aircraft to Germany, along with roughly 2,000 troops, to take part in the Western alliance’s largest annual military exercise.
Uzbekistan is set to introduce mandatory preparatory “zero classes” before primary school, after President Shavkat Mirziyoyev approved a decree making year-long school readiness programmes an official part of compulsory education.
The U.S. Helsinki Commission is set to refocus attention on Georgia’s domestic political crisis and its faltering relationship with Washington with a 11 February briefing titled “Georgian Dream’s Growing Suppression of Dissent.”
Kazakhstan has significantly expanded its international air connectivity last year, reopening and launching flights to 30 countries according to data released by the country’s transport authorities. By the end of 2025, Kazakhstan was operating 135 international routes.
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