Syria's Ministry of Interior announced between 11:46 PM UTC on January 19 and 12:15 AM UTC on January 20, 2026, that it re-arrested 81 of approximately 120 ISIS members who escaped from Al-Shaddadi prison in Hasakah countryside under SDF control, and will pursue the remainder, according to a statement translated and shared on X by azelin. The announcement follows an escape incident at the SDF-held facility, as detailed in the ministry's statement. During Al Jazeera’s coverage of attacks by Damascus-affiliated factions on North and East Syria areas, an ISIS emblem appeared on the shoulder of one gunman, per an X post by SDF_Syria in the same 29-minute period. Protests in solidarity with Kurds in Kobani and Hasakah occurred in Zakho near the Iraq-Syria border, as reported by vvanwilgenburg on X. Kurdish PAK party leader Husen Yazdanpana from Iranian Kurdistan stated that the Kurdistan National Army will urgently discuss mechanisms to reach Rojava defensive lines, according to vvanwilgenburg citing Yazdanpana. The Kurdistan Workers' Party militia broadcast nationalist songs from mosque minarets in Qamishli, per omar_alharir on X. These developments occur amid ongoing Syrian army advances into Hasakah areas, including city center infiltration under SDF fire reported earlier on January 19, per previous coverage citing X posts.
