Iraq keeps wary eye on prison security after Islamic State jailbreak in Syria

The dire effects of massive jailbreaks a decade prior and the thousands of Islamic State convicts and suspects in Iraqi detention have induced greater attention to facilities in the country following an attack across the border.
Prison
Men suspected of being affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) gather in a prison cell in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakeh on Oct. 26, 2019. - FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images
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Shelly Kittleson
@shellykittleson

Iraq has stepped up monitoring of several of its prisons after hundreds of alleged Islamic State (IS) fighters escaped detention facilities in northeastern Syria in an attack on Jan. 20.

The spokesman for the Iraqi commander-in-chief stated on Jan. 30 that units from the country’s Counterterrorism Services (CTS) had between Jan. 22 and Jan. 30 engaged in a “major campaign to inspect” prisons in several Iraq provinces.

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