Source: Yahoo News
Beirut (AFP) - Syrian rebels on
Thursday seized control of most of Aleppo's central prison, freeing
hundreds of detainees, an NGO said, prompting a denial from state media.
The Syrian
Observatory for Human Rights said members of the Islamic Front
coalition, dominated by the Ahrar al-Sham brigade and Al-Qaeda affiliate
Al-Nusra Front, mounted the assault.
"Ahrar
al-Sham and Al-Nusra Front have taken control of 80 percent of Aleppo
central prison and freed hundreds of prisoners," Observatory director
Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
But
state television carried a breaking news alert, saying soldiers and
security forces had "thwarted an attack against the prison by terrorist
groups."
Abdel Rahman said the
rebel assault started with a suicide attack carried out by an Al-Nusra
fighter at the prison's main entrance.
"Large numbers of rebels then followed by attacking the prison," he added.
Ahrar
al-Sham said opposition fighters had taken full control of the prison,
as did the Aleppo Media Centre, a citizen-journalist outlet.
But
Abdel Rahman said fighting was still ongoing at the complex, which
reportedly holds some 3,000 detainees, including Islamists, activists
and minors.
Rebels have launched attacks on the prisons for months, trying without success on several occasions to seize full control.
Conditions inside are said to be dire, with the Observatory reporting outbreaks of tuberculosis and other diseases.
The conditions prompted the government to announce in December the release of 366 prisoners for "humanitarian reasons".
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