‘OUT FOR REVENGE’
ISIS prison break bloodbath with ‘200 killed & hundreds freed’ from compound holding Brit jihadis as vids shows carnage
HUNDREDS of Islamic State fighters have broken out of a jail in Syria, after a coordinated series of attacks by their Jihadi comrades involving car bombs and suicide vests.
The huge assault on Gweiran prison in the northeastern Syrian city of Hassakah is said to have left at least 200 dead after hundreds of ISIS fighters tried to storm the site.
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Up to 4,000 Islamic State prisoners are held in the jail, including 700 children, the so-called "Cubs of the Caliphate".
Sources claim the children have been used as "human shields" preventing Kurdish-led forces from retaking the facility.
Unverified video from the prison raid shows the bloody aftermath, with dead bodies scattered across the ground.
Another video taken from inside the jail features dozens of Islamist fighters allegedly pledging allegiance to the Caliphate before beginning their planned escape.
Speaking to The Sun Online, Brit war hero Alan Duncan, who fought Islamic State in Syria, said his sources on the ground warn him ISIS is "out for revenge".
He said: "This has been a major morale boost for ISIS. It tells their supporters to keep the faith, they're not finished."
Alan, 54, from Scotland, explained that the attack on the sprawling Gweiran site was "extremely coordinated, there were 200 ISIS fighters outside, and three car bombs were set off.
"Escaping prisoners were handed suicide belts by their comrades before the fighters got in to civilian areas."
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ISIS claimed responsibility for the prison break, which began on Friday, on its Amaq media page.
Another unverified video released on Saturday appeared to show armed men breaking into the prison and raising the black flag of ISIS.
On Sunday, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said at least 17 of its soldiers had been killed in the fight with ISIS at the jail.
It is believed that fighting is still ongoing, although an alternative video shows a number of ISIS fighters lined up against a prison wall after being recaptured.
Alan said: "There will be a number of Brits among the inmates who escaped, as well as among the 'Cubs of the Caliphate'.
"These children are taken away from their parents at age 12 in an attempt to deradicalise them in the prison. They are also victims of ISIS."
This attack should be a wake-up call
Alan Duncan
And he warned that many of those escaped fighters would be seeking to travel to Europe "with revenge on their minds".
He added: "This attack should be a wake-up call. It was planned for at least six months before. This will trigger copycat attacks to try and free more ISIS prisoners."
The Islamic State has said it wants to free its women and children from the camps such as Al-Hawl, where former ISIS bride Shamima Begum is living.
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According to the US government, much of the 60,000-strong camp is run by the Islamic State which uses it for indoctrination and recruitment purposes.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that some 15% or 9,000 inhabitants of the camp are from countries other than Iraq or Syria.
Alan warned that camps such as Al-Hawl are a "ticking timebomb" of extremism.
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This attack is one of the deadliest ISIS assaults since the so-called caliphate was declared defeated by a US-led coalition some three years ago.
Alan also called for more support to the SDF to contain ISIS, including further support, equipment, and training.
On Monday, the SDF said it had managed to recapture parts of the prison.
The US-led coalition said violence first erupted after ISIS militants seized weapons from prison guards before killing them.
Simultaneously, an attack was launched by gunmen outside the prison, while militants attacked neighbouring civilian reports.
Unconfirmed reports say one victim was beheaded.
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Major General John Brennan, a leading US commander in the fight against ISIS, said in a statement: "While it is militarily defeated, Daesh remains an existential threat to the region.
"Due to its severely degraded capability, Daesh's future survival is dependent on its ability to refill its ranks through poorly-conceived attempts like the prison attack."
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