SDF announces results of the operation against ISIS in Heseke

The General Command of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) revealed the details of the ISIS attack on Al-Sina’a prison, and the forces supporting the attack, as well as military and civilian martyrs and mercenaries’ deaths. The SDF praised the people’s cooperation with their troops, especially in the neighborhoods of Ghweran, al-Zhour and Al-Nashwa, and called for political and military support to end the ISIS threat.

The statement, which was delivered in Hasaka city on Monday, was read by the member of General Command of Syrian Democratic Forces, Nowruz Ahmed, in the presence of Commander-in-Chief of Internal Security Forces of North and East Syria, Siyamand Walat, and member of General Command of Syrian Democratic Forces, Mahmoud Barkhdan.

The statement by SDF General Command includes the following:

“On January 20, 2022, at 7pm, and through prior planning, ISIS terrorists launched an attack on Al-Sina’a prison, where thousands of ISIS mercenaries are being held, and many suicide groups joined the attack as well.

At the beginning of the attack, the mercenaries detonated a car bomb at the main gate of the prison, and they launched the attack on the prison from three axes, in an effort to control it, and to strike our forces, which intervened to end this situation.

Concurrently with that, thousands of mercenaries detained in prison launched an attack on the prison workers, such as internal security forces and workers in institutions, and a large freight car loaded with weapons and ammunition approached the prison gate, so that the detained mercenaries, when escaping from the prison, could obtain weapons.

If this attack were to succeed, their plan would have been to continue their attack on the neighborhoods of “Ghweran and Al-Zhour” as well as some of the civilian and military Autonomous Administration institutions in the area, and that was exactly the plan they wanted to implement.

Once again, in order to provide support for the attack in neighborhoods like “Gweran and Al-Zhour”, tunnels had been dug inside some houses, and they wanted in this way to prepare the ground for the success of their plan. But the prison guards and our fighters showed great heroism, fought valiantly and reached the stage of martyrdom. These comrades were the main factor in thwarting the plan of the terrorist organization “ISIS”, which relied on the method of surprise. After that, our forces (SDF) and Internal Security Forces (Asayish) intervened quickly, moved in an organized manner and imposed a siege on the prison, as well as besieged the university building, which is separated only by a wall from the prison, after imposing control over the vicinity of that wall. It turned out that some of the “ISIS” mercenaries who managed to escape from the prison dormitories had reached those buildings, so a tight siege was imposed around those buildings as well.

On the other hand, a security cordon was imposed on the entire “Ghweran” neighborhood, as well as the surrounding neighborhoods. Then our forces entered the offensive phase.

In the framework of the “Peoples’ Hammer” campaign, our forces began a sweep operation against the mercenaries of the terrorist organization “ISIS” in the vicinity of the prison, in the neighborhoods of Hasaka, and in the areas of Deir al-Zor and Raqqa as well. Our forces (SDF) and Internal Security Forces (Asayish) moved with great professionalism towards the attacking mercenary groups, and many of them were eliminated.

As a result, once again, all the mercenaries were arrested and transferred to other prisons.

In order not to harm the lives and homes of citizens in Hasaka, as well as to protect the children (Cubs of Caliphate) who are in prison, and because ISIS mercenaries used them as “human shields”, our forces moved with high sensitivity and showed long patience in dealing with the situation, and this made the process take additional time.

In the end, relying on the heroism of the prison guards under the leadership of comrade “Jamal Kobani”, who showed a unique resistance through their precise and rapid intervention, and with the start of a sweeping campaign in Hasaka, the plan of the terrorist organization “ISIS” was thwarted, and the situation was brought under control.

The ISIS attack was not an ordinary attack, it came from a broad plan that had been prepared for a long time. According to the seized documents, as well as ISIS confessions, if their attack on Al- Sina’a prison had succeeded, they would have launched attacks on other neighborhoods in Hasaka, as well as their attacks on areas of “Al-Hol, Al-Shadada, and Deir ez-Zor”, and they would have been able to put their broad plan into action to announce its alleged caliphate, which has been falsely called the “Second Islamic State”.

Al- Sina’a prison attack was not a local one, it did not aim to liberate a number of terrorist detainees only. Rather, they wanted to launch a massive attack on the region, once again to spread their terror of killing and impose darkness on the people of the region, and revive ISIS once again. But the plan failed in the end. Once again, as happened in “Al-Baghouz”, they collectively surrendered themselves to our forces, and we imposed control over the situation completely.

Once again, our forces demonstrated their ability to impose their will in achieving victories, as they created the spirit and hope of victory for all components of the region.

According to the information and the confessions, some of the ISIS cells came from the occupied areas such as Serêkaniyê / Ras al-Ain and Girê Spî / Tal Abyad, and another part came from Iraq as support for them. But the plan and the operations room, according to the documents, were prepared outside the Syrian borders.

Certainly, the ISIS attack was not born suddenly. After the Al-Baghouz victory and the ending of ISIS geographically, the terrorist organization deliberately reconfigured and revived itself to suit the new conditions to reorganize its ranks, and restore its former strength, by imposing fear and terror on the community and the people of the region. It always had attempts to attack our troops, especially in the areas of “Deir ez-Zor, Al-Raqqa, and Al-Shadadi” as well as on the Iraqi-Syrian border line.

For more than three years, our forces have been waging a relentless struggle against the terrorist organization ISIS to prevent it from restoring its power. What happened in Al- Sina’a prison suggests that ISIS has exploited the political conditions and directly or indirectly relied on some regional countries such as the Turkish state to carry out its attack, as the Turkish state attacks NE Syria, which gives ISIS moral strength to catch its breath again to reorganize its ranks.

The occupied areas of Serêkaniyê/Ras al-Ain and Girê Spî/Tal Abyad have also become the safest and most protected areas for ISIS to organize itself and train its cells.

Some of the mercenaries who attacked Al-Sinaa prison came from those areas, so Turkey bears responsibility for the terrorist attacks on the region.

On the other hand, good cooperation has emerged between our forces and the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. Both coordination and operations have taken place in action and fight against the ISIS terrorist organization. But since the geographical defeat of the terrorist organization ISIS, the presence of thousands of ISIS detainees and tens of thousands of their families residing in al-Hol Camp, has left a heavy burden on SDF and AANES. The latest attack has proved that the terrorist organization remains a major threat not only to our regions, but also to the security of the whole world. This attack has shown that there is an urgent need for international assistance to the Syrian Democratic Forces and AANES, particularly by the Global Coalition, in military terms and the need to provide them with advanced technology. In political terms, and in view of the need to eliminate the terrorist organization, such assistance must be intensified in order to halt this threat and threat to the world as a whole.

This attack once again demonstrated the need to seek radical solutions to the presence of mercenary families within al-Hol Camp, which became a time bomb. The case of speeding up the trial and prosecution of ISIS terrorists has also come up again, forming the basis of an international court.

As long as we delay finding radical solutions and implementing them on the ground, ISIS will benefit from it.

Our people in al-Hasakah in general, “with Arabs, Kurds, Syriacs and Assyrians”, and in particular those residing in the neighborhoods of “Geweran, al-Zohour, and al-Nashwa” and in all the city’s neighborhoods, have shown unparalleled cooperation with our forces (SDF) and the Internal Security Forces during the past week. They defended their neighborhoods and their city, and quickly conveyed information to the security forces. And the past week also proved that, if the fighters and the people unite together, victory is inevitable and verifiable. This has become a shining example of the truth that we have lived through. Therefore, we thank our people in Al-Hasakah for their vigilance and spirit of sacrifice, and we also thank them for their help and their honorable standing with their forces. We also say to our people in north and east Syria that it has become necessary to show more caution and vigilance towards all attacks by ISIS and others as well. They must organize themselves stronger, and defend their neighborhoods, villages and homes. This is one of the lessons that can be deduced from this attack by the terrorist organization ISIS.

Once again, we thank the international coalition forces, which during the past week have shown good cooperation and coordination with our forces and provided strong and effective assistance to them.

The SDF forces and the Internal Security Forces also showed a high spirit of sacrifice, and kept the hopes and plans of the terrorist organization “ISIS” suffocating in their throats. In this campaign, a number of our fighters rose to the rank of martyrdom. On this basis, we remember with reverence all the martyrs of the “Hammer of the Peoples” Campaign, and pledge to them to achieve a resounding victory. We also congratulate our people and all our fighters and leaders on the success of this campaign.

We direct our appeal to public opinion and all relevant parties, we say to them that in order for the nightmare of ISIS not to be repeated again, and in order for the terrorist organization “ISIS” not to be able to gather its ranks, it is imperative to provide aid and assistance – and more powerfully – to the Syrian Democratic Forces, the people of Syria, the components of north and east Syria and the Autonomous Administration. The more political, military and economic support is provided to the SDF and AANES, the more ISIS will weaken and enter the stage of atrophy.

As a result, the terrorist organization “ISIS” tried to restore the region and its residents to live in the dark days and a nightmare that engulfed them, and for this it benefited from several parties. But the heroism, daring of our fighters and their high vigilance, and the association of our people with their forces and supporting them, made another victory on the anniversary of the victory of the Kobani resistance. We, in turn, dedicate this victory to our people and our martyrs.

Within the framework of the “Hammer of the Peoples” Campaign, local combing operations are still continuing at specific points, in areas such as “Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa”, as well as broader operations against the remnants of the terrorist organization “ISIS” and its sleeper cells.

Outcome

The mercenaries of the terrorist organization “ISIS” within the prison brutally killed 77 employees of prison institutions and guards. In the clashes and battles outside the prison, which lasted for seven days, 40 of our fighters were martyred. And 4 citizens rose to the rank of martyrdom.

In the overall outcome of the “Hammer of the Peoples” campaign, 121 of our fighters and prison workers heroically rose to the rank of martyrdom.

Once again, we remember with reverence all our martyrs.

The death toll of ISIS terrorists: 374”