Fearing suicide bombers and mines | Military forces comb cautiously Ghuwayran prison, amid exchanges of fire with ISIS members inside and outside the prison
Al-Hasakah province: SOHR sources have reported that the anti-terrorism forces of the SDF and Asayish trained by the International Coalition, are carrying out combing and searching operations in the sections and buildings of Ghuayran prison in Al-Hasakah city.
Meanwhile, sporadic gunfire is heard as clashes are undergone with ISIS gunmen who are still holed up in the basements of the last building.
Reliable sources have also confirmed that the combing of the prison was taking place under great caution, as military forces are fearing that there might be suicide bombers or mines had been laid by ISIS fighters.
Moreover, death toll keeps rising, amid confirmed reports of killing more military forces members. Accordingly, the total death toll since the start of Ghuwayran prison break on January 20 evening has reached 218: 156 ISIS fighters, seven civilians and 55 members of Asayish Forces, prison guards, counter-terrorism forces and SDF.
The Syrian Observatory asserts that this death toll is not definitive and is expected to rise further in light of the ongoing combing campaigns, as more bodies are expected to be found. In addition, there are many people who have sustained serious injuries.
Earlier this day, SOHR sources reported that combing operation by military forces was expected to start in the morning in the buildings in the northern part of Ghuwayran prison, where ISIS fighters were holed up before their surrender, as the military forces were combing quarters near these buildings. 25 to 40 ISIS members were expected to be still hiding in a basement in this section, after a week without food, while some of them were killed in last night’s airstrikes, while they were attempting to escape.
On the other hand, military forces are still combing neighbourhoods around Ghuwayran prison and other nearby areas, searching for members of ISIS cells who are expected to be hidden there.