U.S. officials now estimate about 200 Islamic State group fighters escaped from a Syrian detention site during a fast-moving handover of security control, a breach that is sharpening U.S. concerns about jihadist breakouts and accelerating the transfer of detainees out of northeast Syria.
A U.S. official told Reuters that "about 200 low-level Islamic State fighters" escaped from the al-Shaddadi prison camp on Monday after guards from the Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, withdrew from the facility.
The U.S. estimate differs from figures cited by Syrian authorities.
Syria's Interior Ministry said Tuesday that 120 Islamic State group members escaped from a prison in northeast Syria amid clashes, and that security forces recaptured 81 of them.
Breitbart, citing the Reuters account, reported the estimate of 200 was higher than the Syrian government figure but far below what it described as the SDF's worst-case estimate that as many as 1,500 inmates could have fled.
The same report said the al-Shaddadi population had been reduced before the fighting, with about 600 foreign Islamic State group fighters transferred to other camps, according to the unnamed U.S. official.
The competing claims reflect a broader blame game between Damascus and the Kurdish-led SDF as the security map in northeast Syria shifts.
The Syrian Interior Ministry accused the SDF of withdrawing irresponsibly from detention sites and deliberately setting some inmates free, while the SDF accused government-linked jihadi paramilitary groups of freeing Islamic State group prisoners.
The escape episode is landing as the U.S. military moves to reduce the risk of additional breakouts.
On Wednesday, the U.S. military said it transferred 150 Islamic State group detainees from Syria to Iraq and said the effort could eventually move up to 7,000 detainees.
"We are closely coordinating with regional partners, including the Iraqi government, and we sincerely appreciate their role in ensuring the enduring defeat of ISIS," said Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. forces in the Middle East.
In a separate statement reported by The Associated Press, Cooper said, "Facilitating the orderly and secure transfer of ISIS detainees is critical to preventing a breakout that would pose a direct threat to the United States and regional security."
Reuters contributed to this report.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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