Photo: Dec. 23, 2018. Sgt. Arjenis Nunez
PM:08:36:25/01/2022
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SULAIMANI — The Pentagon confirmed on
Monday (January 24) US ground forces have joined Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)
in their fight to regain control of al-Sinaa prison in Hasaka, where thousands
of Islamic State (ISIS) militants are held.
The Pentagon said the coalition was
backing the SDF in armored Bradley fighting vehicles and was providing "limited
ground support.”
The US conducted air strikes over the
past four days with Apache helicopters in support of the SDF and Internal
Security Forces’ (ISF) battle to quell the prison break, which began on Thursday
when sleeper cells in the area carried out three explosions in the vicinity of
the prison in Hasaka’s Ghweiran neighborhood.
The fight to prevent a mass break-out
is the largest US engagement with ISIS since the defeat of its so-called
caliphate in 2019, according to the New York Times.
UNICEF warned on Sunday there were
nearly 850 juvenile inmates at risk in the prison. Other estimates put the
figure at 700.
Farhad Shami, the head of the SDF media
center, said they had received some reports ISIS was threatening to kill the
juvenile inmates if attacks continued, the New York Times reported.
Save the Children said they had
received audio reports that minors had been injured and killed during clashes
in the prison, including a 17-year-old Australian who said he was wounded in an
airstrike.
The SDF media center issued an announcement
last night calling on ISIS members to surrender, stating they were "completely
surrounded” and there was "no way out.”
(NRT Digital Media)