Syrian Kurdish forces free hostages amid IS prison attack

Kurdish-led forces were advancing slowly inside an eastern Syrian detention facility on Tuesday that came under attack by Islamic State militants last Thursday.

Hundreds of militants remain holed up in the northern wing at one end of the prison complex, holding hostages from among the prison staff.

The Gweiran Prison is the largest detention facility in northeast Syria for suspected IS members, with more than 3,000 inmates, including hundreds of minors.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said that it had gained control of more prison cells and freed nine hostages.

It said more inmates have surrendered, bringing the total number to 550.

SDF spokesman Farhad Shami told the AP that as many as 500 may still be holding out inside.

The attack is the biggest by IS militants since the fall of the group's "caliphate" in 2019.

Dozens from both sides have been killed in the clashes.

The U.S.-led coalition has carried out nearly a dozen airstrikes, and thousands of civilians living nearby have been displaced.

Children are reportedly among the dead and wounded from the fighting, rights groups say, though numbers are not known.

Overnight, scores of minors were transported in buses out of the complex, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. But it appears some remain in the militants' hands.

SDF spokesman Farhad Shami said around 700 boys, around half of them Iraqis and other non-Syrians, were inmates in the prison.

Most are between 14 to 17 years old, though some are as young as 12.

Most were captured by Kurdish forces during their U.S.-backed campaign that brought down IS three years ago.

IS had trained young boys for combat, calling them "Cubs of the Caliphate".

Shami said IS militants are using these boys inside the prison as human shields against SDF forces.

Some 45,000 civilians have fled the city of Hassakeh where the prison is located, according to the U.N. Most have moved in with family and friends, but 750 have taken refuge in temporary shelters, including mosques.