The Syrian army has announced a curfew in the city of al-Shaddadi in the country’s northeast after the escape of ISIL (ISIS) fighters from the city’s prison amid clashes with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), according to the state news agency, SANA.
The Syrian army told Al Jazeera Arabic on Monday that it was now in complete control of the city and the prison housing suspected ISIL detainees as its troops searched al-Shaddadi and its surrounding areas for the escaped fighters.
The Syrian Operations Authority also told SANA that control of the al-Aqtan prison and security facilities in the city northeast of Raqqa would be assumed by the Ministry of Interior following the operation, and claimed that the SDF had deliberately released ISIL members.
The army did not say how many fighters had been released from the prison.