DAMASCUS, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. forces continued their bombardment of buildings and institutions in Syria's northeastern Hasakah Province on Tuesday, as part of their alleged manhunt of Islamic State (IS) fugitives, state news agency SANA reported.
The U.S. forces are shelling buildings and public institutions in the vicinity of the Sina'a prison in the Gweiran neighborhood in Hasakah "on the pretext of hunting down IS militants who fled the prison," said SANA.
The shelling came in tandem with waves of raids by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to homes in the surrounding areas, rounding up many civilians and taking them to unknown locations, SANA added.
On Jan. 20, IS inmates inside the Sina'a prison, which is controlled by the SDF, started a riot that was coordinated with IS militants from outside, who detonated the prison's gates with two booby-trapped vehicles, succeeding to free some prisoners.
The incident triggered clashes between IS and the SDF as well as U.S. airstrikes on the areas, where the IS fugitives could have sought shelter in.
The clashes and airstrikes are still ongoing as the SDF has so far failed to contain the situation and storm the prison.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry has slammed the U.S. airstrikes as civilian casualties have been reported.
Hasakah province is largely controlled by the U.S.-backed SDF, while certain areas, particularly in the city of Qamishli, are still under the control of the Syrian government. ■
