The Syrian army announced a curfew after its fighters escaped from a prison amid clashes.
Published January 19, 2026
The Syrian army announced a curfew in the northeastern city of al-Shadadi after ISIS fighters escaped from a prison in the city amid clashes with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), state news agency SANA said.
Monday’s clashes came a day after Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF leader Mazloum Abdi, also known as Mazloum Kobani, reached a cease-fire agreement.
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Despite the uncertainty over the ceasefire, al-Shallah and U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday discussed “the need to guarantee the rights and protection of the Kurdish people within the framework of the Syrian state,” the Syrian president’s office said in a statement.
The two leaders also confirmed “the importance of maintaining the unity and independence of Syria’s territory” and ways to continue the fight against ISIL, the statement added.
The Syrian military announced to Al Jazeera on Monday that it had taken full control of the city of al-Shadadi and the prison housing ISIL suspects, as the Syrian army searched the city and surrounding areas for escaped fighters.
According to Reuters, Syria’s interior ministry announced early Tuesday that 81 of the approximately 120 ISIL detainees who escaped from prison had been rearrested and efforts to apprehend the remaining fugitives were continuing.
Syrian military operations officials also told SANA that the Ministry of Interior will take over the management of Al-Akhtan prison and other security facilities in the city.
Both the Syrian army and the Self-Defense Forces blame each other for the escape of ISIL detainees. The military claims the SDF intentionally released ISIL members, while the SDF claims it lost control of the prison due to military attacks, claims the military denies.
The SDF said in a statement that nine of its members were killed and 20 injured in the fighting around Al Akhtan. The Kurdish-led force’s statement added that the US-led military coalition formed to fight ISIL had not intervened despite repeated calls to nearby bases where coalition forces are stationed.
After a ceasefire was signed between the Syrian government and the SDF over the weekend, Damascus announced that Kurdish-led forces had agreed to withdraw from areas it controls, including the cities of Raqqa and Deir al-Zor, both home to Syria’s main oil fields, and two Arab-majority provinces it has ruled for years. Most of Hasakah province, where al-Shadadi city is located, remains under SDF control.
ISIL was defeated in Iraq in 2017 and Syria two years later, but the group’s sleeper cells continue to carry out deadly attacks in both countries.
