Several hundreds of ISIS prisoners have escaped after Turkish operation, says Russia

Several hundreds of ISIS militants have escaped from captivity following the Turkish military operation in northern Syria, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said on Nov. 22. "These ISIS militants could facilitate the recreation of the organization’s armed potential," he said.

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Several hundreds of ISIS militants have escaped from prions since the beginning of Turkey's operation in Syria's north, which can help restore the organization’s combat capability, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Syromolotov said in an interview with Sputnik on Nov. 22. 

"We do not have the exact number of terrorists who could have been set free. At the same time, according to our data, we are talking about several hundred ISIS members that escaped from captivity," Syromolotov said.

Russia is “significantly concerned” over this issue, Syromolotov said, adding: "These ISIS militants could facilitate the recreation of the organization’s armed potential." 

According to Syromolotov, the revival of ISIS in the region can be stopped only if the Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity is ensured and "resumption of hostiles" is prevented.  

"In order to prevent the recreation of the ISIS terrorist potential in general, we need, first of all, to prevent the resumption of hostilities in the region, and to help restore the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic. In fact, the Russia-Turkey Memorandum of October 22, 2019 is aimed at this; and its implementation is going stage by stage," he said.

On Oct. 9, Turkey began a cross-border offensive against the People's Protection Units (YPG), viewed as terrorists by Ankara due to the group’s links with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).  

Following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s meetings with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the Russian city of Sochi on Oct. 22, there was an agreement for the YPG’s withdrawal from northern Syria. 

But on Nov. 18, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğu criticized Russia regarding the situation in Syria, saying Moscow had not done what was required under the Sochi agreement.  

Çavuşoğlu also said Turkey would launch a new military operation in northeast Syria if the area was not cleared of the YPG.