ISIS inmates riot a second time at Hasakah prison

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Suspected Islamic State (ISIS) militants have reportedly rioted for the second time in 24 hours at a prison in the Kurdish-held northeastern Syrian city of Hasakah.

Adnan Hassan, a citizen journalist near the scene, told AP that gunfire was heard on Monday night at Sanaa prison in Hasakah's Geweran neighbourhood, followed by ambulances rushing to take the wounded to hospitals.

US-led forces were spotted overhead dropping flares to illuminate the area and aid the Kurdish forces in their attempt to get the situation under control, he added. 

Prisoners initially began rioting around 10pm on Sunday night, breaking CCTV cameras and smashing down walls. 

Conflicting reports on whether prisoners have escaped have emerged.
 
While the Kurdish led-SDF force commander Mazloum Abdi has assured the international community that "no prisoners escaped," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) claimed that four militants escaped the facility during the initial riot. 

The head of the prison confirmed to Rudaw on Monday that ISIS militants are still in control of the ground floor. 

"Now, the ground floor of the prison is in the hands of the brigands so we cannot break into that floor," Rubar Hassan told Rudaw, referring to ISIS militants.

He added that the prisoners "smashed all the CCTV cameras and the internal doors."

The ISIS "members are still out of control on one of the floors," SDF official Mervan Qamishlo confirmed to AP.

According to Rudaw's Rangin Sharo, SDF counterterror forces have arrived at the scene, cordoning off the area to prevent any possible escape.

SDF Commander Abdi tweeted that they prevented a "catastrophe" from happening. 

"Due to great efforts made by our forces & swift intervention against the insubordination of ISIS detainees inside one prison, we were able to avoid catastrophe & take control," Abdi added.

Somewhere between 3,000-5000 prisoners from around 50 nationalities are held in the prison, most of whom were detained by Kurdish and coalition forces in the last ISIS stronghold of Baghouz in March 2019.

Kurdish forces have repeatedly called on the international community to take care of the large number of ISIS militants and take them back to their countries of origin as well as the myriad of ISIS families held at the overwhelmed refugee camps in the Kurdish held region. Yet, the response has been very slow  

"Our allies must find a quick radical solution to this international problem," the commander said.