JEDDAH: Six members of Kurdish-led security forces and two militants were killed on Monday in a Daesh attack aimed at freeing extremists from a prison in northern Syria.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the attack was directed against a Kurdish security compound in Raqqa, the group's former de facto capital in Syria, which includes a military intelligence prison housing terrorists.

The prison is home to hundreds of extremists, including 200 high-level terrorists, according to Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Observatory, which monitors the Syrian war in Britain. He claimed that the jihadists' target was a military intelligence prison.

Also Read: Philippines: Christmas nightmare as 6 die, 19 missing due to rains, floods

Raqqa was declared an emergency and the city locked down by Kurdish-led authorities as security forces chased fugitive Daesh fighters.

Daesh acknowledged carrying out the attack and claimed that two of its fighters, one of whom claimed to have escaped, were responsible for its launch. The group claimed that the purpose of the attack was to take revenge on "Muslim prisoners" living in al-Hol camp under Kurdish administration and female relatives of militants.

Al-Hol, home to more than 50,000 people, is the largest camp for displaced persons who fled after fighting ousted Daesh fighters from the last areas of Syrian territory led by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in 2019.

Also Read: Five army personnel martyred in IED blast in Balochistan’s Kahan

The SDF, which controls Raqqa and al-Hol, said Daesh had not even come close to releasing the prisoners, according to SDF spokesman Farhad Shami. He claimed that the action of our forces prevented Daesh from attacking the prison.

He said security personnel were still combing the area to detain the cell members.

The assault was the most significant effort by Daesh to free prisoners since they launched their biggest offensive in years in January, when they stormed the Ghwayran prison in the Kurdish-controlled city of Hasakeh.

Hundreds of people were killed in a week-long offensive to free the extremists there.

In 2014, Daesh captured large parts of Iraq and Syria, including Raqqa, which served as its capital. However, since losing its last large territory in Syria in 2019, Daesh has turned to guerrilla warfare.

Also Read: How Christmas celebrated in America

Daesh factions have dramatically increased their killings and attacks in SDF-held areas since the beginning of December. According to the Syrian Observatory, 11 people were killed in Daesh's 16 operations against SDF members in Deir Ezzor and al-Hasakah.