Iraqi security forces on Sunday were put on high alert in three governorates located close to the Syrian border, to prevent any infiltration attempts after reports that ISIS inmates escaped from a prison in northeastern Syria.
A source in the Iraqi Ministry of Defense told the Arab World Press (AWP) Sunday that “the Ministry mobilized all its forces stationed close to the Syrian border and supported them with additional forces, after receiving information that terrorists had escaped from a prison in northeastern Syria.”
“The 7th Division, stationed at the border strip opposite al-Hol camp and up towards the north, took precautionary measures and began extensive sweeping and ground reconnaissance operations to prevent infiltration,” the source affirmed, adding that the Ministry also mobilized its air forces to comb out the area.
“Since Saturday, the forces have been roaming the skies on the border strip with Syria and in the Nineveh and west Al-Jazeera operations commands, to monitor any suspicious movements,” the source said.
On Saturday, media reports said 37 ISIS members escaped from a prison in Ras al-Ayn in the Hasakah governorate in northeastern Syria, an area controlled by Turkish forces and close to the borders of both Iraq and Türkiye.
The reports indicated that the fugitives included Iraqis.
Later, a statement issued by the Popular Mobilization Forces said its Nineveh Operations Command launched a comprehensive security operation from Hadar Island, stretching to the border areas adjacent to Saladin and Al-Jazeera Operations Commands, spanning across four strategic axes.
Meanwhile, the Anbar Operations Commander, Lieutenant-General Numan Al-Zobaie, told AWP that the Iraqi forces are continuing to pursue terrorists deep in the desert and to prevent any infiltration.
He ruled out any possible infiltration of prisoners fleeing from Syria into Anbar due to the tight security measures enforced at the borders.
Earlier, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said military and security forces at the Kurdish-dominated Autonomous Administration areas were put on high alert since early Saturday after 37 prisoners escaped from a prison in Ras Al-Ain city in “Peace Spring” area in north-western Hasaka.
The prisoners included 18 civilians from Al-Darbasiyah and Amuda in the Hasaka countryside, who had been arrested at different times while they were sneaking into the “Peace Spring” area with the help of smugglers, the Observatory noted.
It added that the18 inmates arrived on Saturday to SDF-controlled areas after their families paid ransoms of $3,000 per person.
The inmates were arrested by SDF forces. They were interrogated shortly after their arrival.
Meanwhile, SDF security services are chasing 19 other prisoners who crossed on Saturday into SDF-controlled areas from the “Peace Spring” area, amid concerns that those prisoners are ISIS commanders who are intentionally sent to the areas to carry out planned operations.
Also, SOHR sources said about 40 families of ISIS members holding the Iraqi nationalities, including women and children, left Ras Al-Ain (Sare Kaniyeh) area within the “Peace Spring” area in the Hasaka countryside, towards Turkish territory, through the border crossing.
Sources confirmed that those families will be handed over to the Iraqi government by the Turkish consulate after entering the Turkish territory, under a joint coordination between the two sides.
