Yesterday, Monday, inmates of a prison in northwestern Syria rebelled after the devastating earthquake that hit the area, as at least 20 of them managed to escape from the facility that houses prisoners, most of whom are members of the Islamic State, according to a prison source.
The military police prison in the town of Rajo, near the Turkish border, holds about 2,000 prisoners, about 1,300 of whom are suspected of belonging to the Islamic State, according to the source.
The prison also houses fighters from the Kurdish forces.
"After the earthquake struck, Rajo prison was affected, and this evening (Monday) ... a rebellion began by the prisoners who took control of parts of it," said the official in Rajo prison, which is controlled by pro-Turkish factions.
He added, "About 20 people escaped from prison, according to preliminary estimates, and it is believed that they are ISIS prisoners."
The source pointed out that the 7.7-magnitude earthquake was followed by dozens of aftershocks in the area, which caused cracks in the walls and doors of the prison.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it could not verify whether prisoners had escaped, but confirmed a mutiny.
And the Syrian government and relief organizations announced that about 1,451 people were killed on Monday in Syria as a result of the devastating earthquake, which had its epicenter in southwestern Turkey.
The Raju incident comes in the wake of an ISIS attack last December that targeted a security compound in Raqqa, with the aim of liberating their fellow fighters from a prison there.
The failed attack killed 6 members of the Kurdish-led forces that control the area.
During the years of the conflict in Syria, thousands of foreign fighters joined the ranks of armed organizations in Syria, especially ISIS.
Syria has been witnessing a bloody conflict since 2011, which has killed about half a million people, caused massive damage to infrastructure, and led to the displacement of millions of people inside and outside the country.