{"id":197474,"date":"2026-01-20T05:56:52","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T05:56:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/u-s-allied-fighters-in-syria-say-they-lost-control-of-a-prison-holding-isis-militants-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T05:56:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T05:56:52","slug":"u-s-allied-fighters-in-syria-say-they-lost-control-of-a-prison-holding-isis-militants-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/u-s-allied-fighters-in-syria-say-they-lost-control-of-a-prison-holding-isis-militants-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S.-allied fighters in Syria say they lost control of a prison holding ISIS militants – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

news Alerts
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U.S.-allied forces guarding prisons holding thousands of Islamic State group militants in northeastern Syria said Monday that they had lost control of one of the facilities after fighting broke out with fighters loyal to the government in Damascus.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) added that one prison was less than 2 miles from a U.S.-led coalition base, but it \u201cdid not intervene, despite repeated calls for intervention.\u201d Now the facility was \u201cno longer in SDF control.\u201d
The longtime U.S. ally added on Telegram that it was trying to \u201cprevent a serious security catastrophe.\u201d
NBC News has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.
The SDF, once the U.S.’ main ally in Syria, earlier said it had also clashed with forces affiliated with the Syrian government<\/a> near another facility holding ISIS detainees, the Al-Aqtan prison on the outskirts of Raqqa, the city that was once the center of the militant group\u2019s short\u2011lived \u201ccaliphate.\u201d
The Syrian army and the SDF<\/a> on Sunday signed a ceasefire to end fighting that has displaced thousands.
Dozens of SDF fighters have been killed confronting forces affiliated with the Syrian government near the Shaddadi prison in the Hasaka province, the group said, adding it had been working with the international coalition to transfer ISIS detainees from the prison for three days.
The Syrian army accused the SDF of releasing ISIS prisoners from the Shaddadi facility. Units were securing the prison and combing the nearby city of the same name with the aim of arresting those freed, it said in a statement to the Syrian state-run SANA news agency.
\u201cThe Army Command contacted mediators and SDF commanders to hand over al-Shaddadi prison to the Internal Security Forces for the purpose of securing it and its surroundings, but the SDF leadership refused and continues to refuse to this day,\u201d it added.
The fighting broke out a day after Syria\u2019s government and the SDF signed a sweeping integration deal that was supposed to bring much of the autonomous region under government control. Responsibility for prisons housing Islamic State group detainees was meant to be transferred to the government.
SDF leader Mazloum Abdi confirmed it in a video statement, according to The Associated Press. The AP quoted him as saying that the group had accepted the agreement, which stipulates its withdrawal from Raqqa and Deir el-Zour provinces \u201cto stop the bloodshed.\u201d
Syria\u2019s Defense Ministry said it had ordered the fighting to halt on the front lines after the agreement was announced.
Since toppling Bashar al-Assad<\/a> in December 2024, Syria\u2019s new leaders have struggled to assert their full authority over the war-torn country, but a recent push has seen them gain control over the Deir el-Zour and Raqqa provinces, critical areas under the SDF that include oil and gas fields, and border crossings.
President Ahmad al-Sharaa was shown by the SANA news agency signing and holding the agreement. \u201cIt\u2019s a victory for all Syrians of all backgrounds,\u201d al-Sharaa told journalists in Damascus after signing the agreement. \u201cHopefully Syria will end its state of division and move to a state of unity and progress.\u201d
President Donald Trump and al-Sharaa had a phone discussion about the developments in Syria on Monday, according to SANA<\/a>.
The two leaders discussed, “the importance of preserving Syria\u2019s territorial unity and independence, and supporting all efforts aimed at achieving stability,” SANA said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. said Monday in a post on X<\/a> that Syria could face sanctions if the fighting continues.
“If Syrian government forces continue to advance in the north toward Raqqa, I will push for reimposing Caesar Act sanctions on steroids,” Graham wrote.
He added, “If this continues, not only will there be bone-crushing sanctions, it will permanently damage relationships between the U.S. and the new Syrian government.”
The two warring sides are key allies of Washington. U.S. envoy Tom Barrack met with al-Sharaa earlier Sunday as government forces were sweeping into the city of Raqqa and across Deir el-Zour province. Abdi reportedly joined the meeting over the phone.
Barrack praised the agreement, saying on X<\/a> that it would lead to \u201crenewed dialogue and cooperation toward a unified Syria,\u201d ahead of working on the details of implementing the integration.
Ammar\u00a0Cheikh Omar is a producer for NBC News.
Charlene Gubash is an NBC News producer based in Cairo. Gubash, a native Minnesotan, has lived and worked in the Egyptian capital since 1985.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeU.S.-allied forces guarding prisons holding thousands of Islamic State group militants in northeastern Syria said Monday that they had lost control of one of the facilities after fighting broke out with fighters loyal to the government in Damascus. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) added that one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":197475,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-197474","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}