Stung by prison battle, Kurds say they need help against IS

The battle with Islamic State group militants over a prison in Syria is finished, but the impact continues to reverberate

HASSAKEH, Syria -- Weeks after the long, furious battle with militants from the Islamic State group over a prison in northwestern Syria, the mangled wreckage of a car used by suicide bombers still sat outside its perimeter. Cranes put in place new cement blast walls to close off the entrance.

Gaping holes remained in the prison’s outer wall, an ominous reminder of the IS inmates who escaped during the fighting.

The battle for Gweiran Prison is over; it took 10 days, but U.S.-backed, Syrian Kurdish-led forces finally defeated the militants who attacked the facility in the city of Hassakeh, aiming to break free their comrades jailed inside, in the group’s largest and most stunning operation in years.

But the impact continues to reverberate. Residents in neighboring districts are locked down as Kurdish fighters hunt for fugitive militants hiding among them.