MOSCOW, January 21. /TASS/. The use of the US air force to liquidate terrorists who escaped from a prison in the Syrian city of Al-Hasakah may entail casualties among civilians, Oleg Zhuravlev, deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria, said on Friday.
According to Zhuravlev, several people suspected of terrorism might have escaped from a prison near the city of Al-Hasakah, which is controlled by Kurdish units, following an attack on it. "US combat drones have been involved in the operation to liquidate the terrorists escaping from the prison. The use of airborne weapons will entail, with a high degree of probability, damage to city infrastructure facilities and civilian casualties," he said.
He stressed that the situation in northeastern Syria is alarming. "The Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties calls on the leaders of the so-called Autonomous Administration for North and East Syria (AANES) to refuse from confrontation with Syria’s legitimate government and ensure security of the civil population and public establishments in this region jointly with security and law enforcement agencies," Zhuravlev.
An Islamic State (outlawed in Russia) group penetrated into Al-Hasakah in the small hours on Friday and attempted the seizure of a prison holding more than 3,000 inmates, including mercenaries who took part in combat operations on the part of Islamic State. According to the Al-Hadath television channel, the attackers detonated two car bombs at the entryway to the penitentiary facility to facilitate the escape.
Kurdish units of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) detained 89 escapees from the Al-Hasakah prison, Firat news agency reported on Friday. Twenty-three Kurdish soldiers and six civilians who had offered resistance to the terrorists were killed. The operation also involved US unmanned aerial vehicles.