Dozens of people were killed in attacks by Islamic State in Syria and Iraq on Friday. This is reported by international news agencies. The attack in Syria is the deadliest IS attack since the fall of the caliphate three years ago, according to AP.
More than 100 extremists armed with automatic rifles and explosives attacked a prison Thursday evening in the northeastern city of Al-Hasakah, an institution run by Kurdish troops and believed to have been holding IS fighters. The attack claimed by IS was intended as a liberation action and led to a 24-hour battle with Kurdish troops, in which both sides were said to have been killed. An unknown number of prisoners have escaped.
The United States came to the rescue of the Kurds on Friday with airstrikes on the prison, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. Also a nearby neighborhood, where IS fighters presumably entrenched, was not spared.
Death toll unclear
It is not entirely clear how many people have died. According to Kirby, it concerns seven Kurdish fighters and at least 28 IS members. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights speaks of a higher number. For example, 23 Kurdish soldiers and prison guards are said to have been killed, as well as 39 IS fighters and 5 civilians.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi army was also the target of an attack on Friday. Kilometers away, just over the border with Syria, IS fighters attacked a military base, killing at least 11 soldiers.
The international coalition, led by the US and formed to fight ISIS, reacted with concern to the events on Friday. This terrorist organization “remains an existential threat in Syria,” the statement said.