ISIS Terrorists Escape Syrian Prisons as Regime Forces Advance on Kurdish-Held Territory 

ISIS Terrorists Escape Syrian Prisons as Regime Forces Advance on Kurdish-Held Territory 

A large number of Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists may have escaped from prison camps in northern Syria, as the Damascus-based Syrian regime army advances on Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The prison escapes are being reported as Islamist forces, loyal to Syrian ‘President’ Ahmed al-Sharaa, are driving Kurds from the north of the country. On Tuesday, the Damascus-based regime gave Kurds “four days to agree on integrating into the central state,” Reuters reported.

Since the collapse of the ISIS Caliphate in 2017, thousands of jihadists have been held in Kurdish-run prisons in northern Syria. These ISIS terrorists were now using the chaos of fighting to flee the prison camps. Media reports suggest that the Syrian Regime may also be helping them escape.

“The [Syrian] army said in a statement that some of the Shaddadi Prison detainees in the town of Shaddadeh were able to flee amid the chaos,” The Associated Press reported Tuesday. “The Kurdish-led force also said nine of its members have been killed and 20 others wounded in fighting around another prison, al-Aqtan, northeast of the northern city of Raqqa.”

In another instance, “[r]ioting Isis wives” were able to “escape prison camp as Syrian army” advanced on Kurds, The Times of London reported. “Videos show tents burning at the al-Hol camp, which holds more than 40,000 people, after the Syrian military began to take control of the Kurdish northeast.”

These so-called ”ISIS brides” are not merely wives of terrorist fighters, but may have actively committed atrocities when the Islamic State ruled over the northern parts of Syria and Iraq. Many of these ideologically zealous women, often teenage girls, travelled from Europe and other parts of the world to join the caliphate.

The number of terrorists on the loose could be more than 1,500, NBC NEWS reported Tuesday:

Longtime U.S. allies say they have abandoned large prisons holding thousands of Islamic State group fighters and their families in northeastern Syria.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said Tuesday it had redeployed from the al-Hol camp to nearby cities, blaming “international indifference” for the withdrawal. The move comes amid intensifying fighting between the SDF and fighters loyal to the government of Syria and after a reported ceasefire between the two sides.

“International indifference toward the issue of the ISIS terrorist organization and the failure of the international community to assume its responsibilities in addressing this serious matter” was behind the move, the SDF said on X.

The SDF and the government have traded blame over the escape from a prison in the town of Shaddadeh, amid the breakdown of a ceasefire deal between the two sides.

SDF spokesperson Farhad Shami told Kurdish news website Rudaw that around “1,500 ISIS militants — including both foreign and Syrian nationals — had been released” by Damascus-affiliated armed groups from Shaddadi prison in southern Hasaka as well following fighting there.

To prevent further escapes, the U.S. military is moving thousands of Islamic State convicts to neighbouring Iraq. “On Wednesday, US forces transported the first 150 ISIS fighters from a detention facility in northeastern Syria to a secure, undisclosed location in Iraq,” Israeli i24NEWS TV channel reported. “Officials say as many as 7,000 detainees could eventually be moved, representing the bulk of the roughly 9,000 fighters still held in Kurdish-managed facilities.”

Israel strikes Hezbollah’s weapons smuggling operation on Syria-Lebanon border

The ongoing turmoil highlights why Israel maintains a security buffer zone in southern Syria. The Al-Sharaa regime has been pushing the Trump administration to force the Israeli military to move out of the buffer zone set up after the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.

Southern Syria continues to be infested by Hezbollah and other terrorist groups. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), on Wednesday, carried out a wave of strikes on the Syria-Lebanon border targeting a Hezbollah weapons smuggling operation in the area.

🎯The IDF struck Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon, including weapons depots, in response to Hezbollah's continued violations of the ceasefire agreement. pic.twitter.com/iXQdTL0nSB

— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) January 21, 2026

“A short while ago, the IDF struck four border crossings on the Syria-Lebanon Border used by Hezbollah to smuggle weapons in the area of Hermel,” the military said in a statement. “In an additional strike earlier today (Wednesday) in the area of Sidon, the IDF struck and eliminated the terrorist Muhammad Awasha, a key Hezbollah weapons smuggler.”

“Awasha advanced and oversaw weapon smuggling to Hezbollah, this included using a front company that ordered and transferred prohibited goods from different countries, including Iraq, Syria, and the Gulf states,” the IDF disclosed. “Additionally, Awasha operated many smugglers who are responsible for smuggling weapons from Iraq to Syria and Lebanon.”

⭕️OPERATIONAL UPDATE:

📍On the Syria-Lebanon Border, 4 border crossings used by Hezbollah to smuggle weapons in the area of Hermel were struck.

📍 In the area of Sidon, the IDF struck and eliminated the terrorist Muhammad Awasha, a key Hezbollah weapons smuggler.

Awasha played… pic.twitter.com/R5FhhCKWXL

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 21, 2026

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