Al-Aqtan Prison, which houses around 2,000 ISIS members, has been under attack by Syrian government–affiliated gangs since 18 January. The SDF and YPJ fighters, along with Counter-Terrorism Units, are resisting the assaults to prevent ISIS members from escaping.
Despite calls to the International Coalition and international powers to take action to prevent escapes due to these attacks, no response has been received so far.
The prison was also attacked by a Turkish drone, causing material damage. The attack was an attempt by the gangs to create chaos inside the prison, but the situation was quickly brought under control.
In a statement on Monday, the SDF announced that many of their fighters had been martyred as a result of the ongoing attacks on al-Aqtan Prison. They noted that the prison holds the most dangerous ISIS fighters.
The forces guarding the prison issued an urgent call to the international community. The fighters pledged to protect the people from terrorism at any cost.