ISIS fighters flee from Syria jail amid Turkey bombing as chilling vid purports to show jihadi brides trying to escape from notorious camp
ISIS fighters escaped from a Syrian jail hit by Turkish bombing as jihadi brides were reportedly filmed trying to flee from a camp in the same region.
Five ISIS terrorists fled from a prison in Qamishli, northern Syria, on Friday after a shell landed in the courtyard of the jail, officials say.
Chilling footage taken on the same day purports to show ISIS brides trying to run away from the notorious al-Hawl refugee camp after starting a riot.
The sprawling camp, which has been dubbed ‘Camp Caliphate’, houses around 68,000 jihadi brides and was once home to Brit-born Shamima Begum.
Tensions at the camp have been heightened since Donald Trump announced US troops would leave the area, paving the way for the Turkish attack on Wednesday.
Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) commander Mervan Qamishlo told CNN there was “civil disobedience” in the camp on Friday, when prisoners razed tents and attacked guards with sticks.
Footage shows what appears to be chaotic scenes inside al-Hawl camp, with dozens of burqa-clad women seen sprinting from guards.
The unrest started in the foreigners’ section and involved more people than previous incidents at the camp, Mr Qamishlo said.
“The [Isis] women rose against the internal security forces at al-Hawl, they set ablaze tents and attacked the administrative and security offices there with stones and sticks,” he added.
Dozens of camp inmates attacked an exit gate before Kurdish security regained control, SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said.
He described the situation as “critical”.
It came less than two weeks after a shootout at the refugee camp left one dead and several more injured.
Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stormed into the camp last month after a mob of fanatics tried to impose archaic religious rules on those inside after holding doctors hostage.
The ISIS wives had found a 16-year-old girl guilty of apostasy and repeatedly knifed her to death as a punishment.
They also killed a one-legged man for the same alleged crime – after he was accused of abandoning Islam.
SDF forces say they stormed the camp and tackled women just as they were about to “lash a woman” brave enough to stand up to them.
Friday’s prison camp escape attempt came as five ISIS militants fled from Navkur prison on Friday after Turkish mortars landed nearby, according to the SDF.
The Navkur prison is located in a Kurdish area, west of Qamishli city and houses some ISIS “foreign fighters”.
Footage shared by officials shows a shell landing in the courtyard of what appears to be a prison facility in the city of Qamishli.
Seconds later, a handful of men open doors and seem to be trying to leave.
An official with the mostly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces says some of the men in the video are security guards seeking to contain the escape and regain control of the prisoners.
The chaos has raised fears that the Turkish invasion on Kurdish-held northeastern Syria may undermine the security of over two dozen facilities where 10,000 ISIS militants are held.
Turkish shells also fell near another prison on Friday and Wednesday in Qamishli, which is only two miles (3 kilometers) from the Turkish border.
Another SDF official mentioned “recurring” bombings near the Jirkine prison, near Navkur, which also holds ISIS fighters as prisoners.
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Turkey and its Syrian allies have been leading an air and land offensive against the Kurdish forces in northeast Syria since Wednesday.
The Turkish offensive has been condemned by several European countries, which have warned about the fate of IS fighters held in SDF prisons.
Around 12,000 ISIS fighters, among them Syrians, Iraqis, but also 2,500 to 3,000 foreign citizens from 54 countries, are held in Kurdish prisons, according to Abdel Karim Omar, an SDF official.
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