Orange uniforms littered the ground at Shaddadi prison in the Hasakah province of north-eastern Syria, its cold cells emptied of detainees.
Inside, the pungent smell of body odour lingered along a corridor lined by about 20 cells. Their doors appeared to have been ripped off, leaving gaping holes in their place. The prison used to hold about 120 ISIS prisoners. All of them escaped on Monday.
“They were all ISIS fighters,” a member of the Syrian forces told The National as he inspected the facility. Mattresses lay scattered across the cells. Untouched food was piled up in corners. Bullets were strewn across the ground.
Empty al-Shaddadi prison, following the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces and its takeover by the Syrian army, as inmates, members of the Islamic State, fled the facility, in Al-Shaddadi, Al-hasakah, Syria. Reuters
Syrian forces began searching the local area on Monday night to find those who escaped and managed to capture most of the fugitives. “About 30 are still missing,” a member of the security forces said.
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