Syria: anti-Daesh coalition says prison escape won’t pose threat to Iraq

The international coalition fighting Daesh has said that the attempt to free the militant group’s members from Al-Hasakah Prison in Syria does not pose a major threat to Iraq and the region, Anadolu has reported.

“Daesh’s desperate attacks in the past days have made it ultimately weaker,” the US-led coalition said. “Coalition forces conducted real-time surveillance during the event, and conducted a series of strikes throughout the days-long operation to include precision targeting of Daesh fighters who were attacking the [Syrian Democratic Forces] from buildings in the area. The coalition retains the right to defend itself and partner forces against any threat, and will continue to do everything within its power to protect those forces.”

Major General John W. Brennan Jr, the commander of the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve said: “In their desperate attempt to display relevance, Daesh delivered a death sentence for many of their own who participated in this attack.”

Brennan explained that, “Many Daesh detainees seized arms from prison guards whom they murdered and subsequently engaged SDF quick reaction forces. Unlike Daesh, the coalition has taken great measures to ensure the humane treatment of detainees, but when Daesh detainees took up arms, they became an active threat, and were subsequently engaged and killed by the SDF and coalition air strikes.”

READ: More than 65 dead in clashes between Daesh, Syria Democratic Forces

He added that the coalition is “confident” in its assessment that the recent Daesh escape attempt will not pose a significant threat to Iraq or the region. “Nevertheless, it is analysing the situation to determine whether Daesh is planning any future attacks on other detention facilities in Iraq or Syria. While Daesh remains a threat, it is clearly no longer the force it once was.”

Anadolu quoted local sources earlier as saying that the Daesh attack on the prison in north-east Syria began on Thursday night and continued until late Friday. It set off deadly clashes with the Kurdish-led militia that controls the area, killing dozens of people and allowing many prisoners to flee.

Coinciding with the attack on Al-Hasakah, Daesh militants across the border in Iraq launched one of the deadliest attacks in months on Friday. Eleven members of the Iraqi security force were killed in a pre-dawn attack on an army post in Diyala Province.