ISIS terrorist detainees say they were freed from prison by SDF/YPG forces

By Muhammed Karabacak

HASAKAH, Syria (AA) – ISIS (Daesh) terrorist detainees, who were briefly released from a prison in Syria’s Hasakah province, said the individuals who freed them claimed to be Syrian soldiers, but their appearance and accents indicated they were actually SDF/YPG members.

The incident occurred on Jan. 19 at Shaddadi Prison, where ISIS detainees were being held, when all prisoners were released following an armed incident.

While the YPG/SDF terror group accused the Damascus administration and tribal forces, the government held the organization responsible.

Syrian army forces reached the area later that night, rounded up most of the released individuals who remained in the district and returned them to the prison for investigation.

An Anadolu reporter who visited Shaddadi Prison spoke with ISIS terrorists who were recaptured by Syrian army forces after their release.

Veysel Ahmed Mustafa said he was captured in 2019 in the Baghouz district of Deir ez-Zor and held at Shaddadi Prison for eight years. He said that he began hearing gunfire after lunch on the day of the incident.

“After lunch was distributed, we began to hear gunfire from a distance. The shots were coming from somewhere slightly away from the prison. After a while, a group came to the cell blocks and opened the doors,” Mustafa said.

“They introduced themselves as Syrian soldiers. However, I realized they were SDF militants. I know their appearance: they had short hair and mustaches. Also, their Arabic was weak. Those who released us spoke Arabic with a Kurdish accent. I understood that they were from the SDF,” he added.

Mustafa said that after leaving the prison, they surrendered to Syrian army forces with the guidance of Arab tribes in Shaddadi.

“They told us, ‘Don’t be afraid, we will hand you over to the army.’ In the evening, the Syrian army took us into custody,” he said.

Speaking about those who freed them, Mustafa added: “I clearly noticed from their hair, mustaches, and dialect that they were from the SDF.”

Abdulhadi Ali al-Ahmed, another ISIS detainee who said he surrendered in 2017, described similar events.

On the evening of Jan. 19, “a group came and opened the doors. They told us, ‘Change your clothes and do not surrender yourselves to the Syrian army.’ When we asked who they were, they did not answer,” he said.

“We walked about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from Shaddadi, and a local resident handed us over to Syrian army forces,” he added.