WASHINGTON — About 200 low-level Islamic State fighters escaped Syria's Shaddadi prison on Monday (Jan 19) after guards from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces left the facility, but Syrian government forces recaptured many of them, a US official said on Tuesday.The official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said about 600 foreign fighters from Islamic State had been transferred from Shaddadi prior to Jan 19 to other facilities and remain in detention.[[nid:727320]]

Empty corridor at al-Shaddadi prison, following the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces and its takeover by the Syrian army, as inmates, members of the Islamic State, fled the facility, in Al-Shaddadi, Al-hasakah, Syria, Jan 20, 2026. 

Syria

prisoner

islamic state

Reuters

WASHINGTON — About 200 low-level Islamic State fighters escaped Syria's Shaddadi prison on Monday (Jan 19) after guards from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces left the facility, but Syrian government forces recaptured many of them, a US official said on Tuesday.The official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said about 600 foreign fighters from Islamic State had been transferred...

US estimates 200 Islamic State fighters escaped Syrian prison, US official says