ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Islamic State (ISIS) militants held at a detention centre in northern Syria made an attempted jail break on Friday, according to reports. The situation was brought under control by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) with the assistance of global coalition partners.
The militants failed in their attempt to break out of the detention centre in Derik, the Rojava Information Center reported. Security forces had surrounded the building and were on the roof, the group added.
All the ISIS detainees were accounted for and there were no casualties, coalition spokesperson Col. Scott Rawlinson said on Saturday, AP reported.
The SDF “peacefully” dealt with the incident and coalition jets monitored from the air, Rawlinson said.
The SDF is holding thousands of ISIS members – including more than 1,000 foreign fighters. The Kurdish administration of the autonomous northern Syrian region has repeatedly said it needs international assistance to carry the “burden”.
While they are prosecuting local militants, the Kurds have refused to put foreigners on trial, demanding home nations repatriate their nationals or find some solution to the problem. Most western nations have resisted bringing home jihadists because of security concerns and doubts they could build a legal case against the militants for crimes committed in Iraq or Syria.
Iraqi ISIS members and a dozen French nationals have been handed over to Baghdad to face trial.
Brett McGurk, America’s former special presidential envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition, told Rudaw this week the SDF needs the world’s help to process captured militants and their families.
“Now we have this extraordinary situation of the housing of foreign fighters and very hardcore fighters in these camps, and they’re going to need help,” McGurk told Rudaw's Roj Eli Zalla following a panel discussion at the National Press Club in Washington on Tuesday.
“I am confident that the administration here in Washington is going to do some things to help these with humanitarian resources and others. But this is really an international problem,” he added.
The SDF announced the defeat of the ISIS “caliphate” last month. The group remains a threat however, as some 14,000 to 18,000 militants are estimated to remain at large across Iraq and Syria.