U.S. Officials Estimate 200 Islamic State Fighters Escaped from Syrian Prison

An unnamed U.S. official told Reuters on Tuesday that “about 200 low-level Islamic State fighters” escaped from the al-Shaddadi prison camp on Monday after the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew from the facility.

This estimate was substantially higher than the 120 escapees estimated by the central Syrian government, but much lower than the 1,500 inmates that could have fled the facility under the SDF’s worst-case estimates.

According to the U.S. official, the population of the al-Shaddadi camp was greatly reduced when about 600 foreign ISIS fighters were transferred to other camps before hostilities broke out between the SDF and forces loyal to the central government.

Officials in Damascus said many of the escapees were quickly recaptured by the Syrian army, a claim supported