After almost a week of fierce fighting with jihadist fighters, the security forces in Hassakeh, northeast Syria, have reported the recapture of the prison that "Islamic State" (IS) attacked on Thursday.

A spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is dominated by Kurdish militias, reported on Wednesday afternoon that the facility was under “complete control” and that all terrorists there had surrendered.

The SDF circulated images of the battle-scarred facility and prisoners lined up, many in bright orange prisoner's uniforms.

Christopher Ehrhardt

Correspondent for the Arab countries based in Beirut.

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There were initially no independent and accurate figures for dead or escaped on Wednesday.

Accordingly, it was not clear whether Western - or even German extremists - were killed or escaped during the fighting of the past six days.

There was talk of dozens of deaths from the ranks of the security forces, as well as hundreds of jihadists killed, including both attackers and prisoners.     

Coordinated large-scale attack by IS

Late Thursday evening, IS launched a major coordinated attack on the prison where thousands of extremists were being held.

Suicide bombers blew open the gates and IS fighters took control of about a quarter of the facility.

The action had escalated into a day-long battle as ISIS had also infiltrated the surrounding areas.

The American-led anti-IS coalition supported the SDF and carried out airstrikes on the prison.

The Kurdish-led militia said the recapture of the facility was slowed down because IS used hundreds of underage prisoners there as human shields.      

The prison that was the focus of the fighting in Hassakeh was originally a trade school.

After the IS pseudo-caliphate completely collapsed in spring 2019, they were converted into a detention center.

A good two years ago, the FAZ visited the makeshift prison and spoke to German IS extremists who had been arrested there.

Overcrowded prisons like the one in Hassakeh have been seen as ticking time bombs for years.

The attack again highlights the many foreign fighters who have traveled to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS. 

IS has grown underground

The Kurdish Autonomous Administration has said it is not their job to bring the extremists to justice.

In vain she calls on the governments of the countries of origin to bring her extremists back.

But they - including the German one - turn a deaf ear when it comes to the IS extremists in prison.

Berlin has always pointed out that there are no consular support options because the Kurdish-dominated administration is not recognised;

their cadres are followers of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.

If women and children are occasionally repatriated, that seems less of a problem.      

The coordinated large-scale attack by Hassakeh is also a sign that IS has regained strength underground - and that it can rely on resentment in the Arab tribes in northeast Syria against the tightly organized Kurdish leadership, whose sphere of rule extends far beyond the Kurdish heartland.

The district in Hassakeh was also considered an anti-Kurdish hotbed.