US Estimates 200 ISIS Fighters Escaped Shaddadi Prison Amid Syrian Attacks
The US estimates 200 ISIS detainees escaped from Shaddadi prison after Syrian Arab Army attacks on the SDF-held facility, as Kurdish forces warn international inaction has forced withdrawals from key detention sites.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - As security conditions sharply deteriorate in northeastern Syria(Western Kurdistan), the United States has estimated that around 200 ISIS detainees escaped from Shaddadi prison following attacks linked to the Syrian Arab Army, according to information reported by Reuters.
The escape occurred at Shaddadi prison, a detention facility that was under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), after attacks carried out by the Syrian Arab Army targeted the prison complex. The incident has raised renewed concerns over the stability of ISIS detention sites and the broader security situation in areas administered by Kurdish-led forces.
Shaddadi prison, similar to the Gweiran prison, is one of the two main detention centers holding the largest number of ISIS militants. According to reports, the two prisons together held nearly 10,000 ISIS fighters. Shaddadi prison alone housed between 3,000 and 5,000 detainees.
Those detained included Iraqi and Syrian ISIS members, as well as nearly 2,000 foreign nationals from fifty-eight different countries, underscoring the international dimension of the security challenge posed by the facility.
The prison break comes amid a broader escalation across Western Kurdistan.
On Tuesday, the SDF issued an official statement sharply criticizing what it described as the silence of the international community in the face of Syrian Arab Army attacks on Western Kurdistan. The SDF said that continued international indifference and the failure to assume responsibility for addressing the ISIS issue had forced its forces to withdraw from al-Hol camp.
According to the SDF statement, Kurdish-led forces were compelled to redeploy from the camp and reposition around cities in northern Syria that are facing heightened dangers and increasing threats, citing the absence of serious international engagement in managing the ISIS detainee crisis.
The developments unfolded as prominent voices warned of the consequences of abandoning Kurdish forces who played a central role in defeating ISIS.
Nadia Murad, the Yazidi survivor of ISIS captivity and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, issued a stark warning that the Kurds who fought on the front lines against ISIS are now being left without sufficient international support.
In a statement published on X on Tuesday, Murad said the US-led coalition had relied on Kurdish forces in Rojava to fight and defeat ISIS, adding that those who confronted “evil” are now being abandoned at a critical moment.
“What the international community is doing in Syria — and across the broader region — is chaos, and innocent people will pay the price,” Murad wrote.
Her remarks coincided with mounting pressure on Kurdish-led forces, as detention facilities, camps, and frontline areas face increasing instability.
The escape of an estimated 200 ISIS fighters from Shaddadi prison, combined with the withdrawal of SDF forces from al-Hol camp, highlights the growing strain on Kurdish forces as they confront escalating threats amid what they describe as continued international indifference.