This is an entry from: Turkey-Syria earthquake: As it happened
20 suspected IS fighters 'escape Syrian jail' after quake
7 February 2023 13:14 GMT
Around 20 prisoners, suspected to be Islamic State fighters, have reportedly escaped from a prison in northern Aleppo as a result of Monday's earthquake.
They fled northern Aleppo's notorious Rajo jail with the help of guards and officials, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said on Tuesday.
Sources told the SOHR that detainees paid thousands of dollars to prison guards to help them escape.
The highly securitised facility holds 2,000 inmates, of whom 1,300 are suspected IS fighters, a prison official told AFP on Monday.
"After the earthquake struck, Rajo was affected and inmates started to mutiny and took control of parts of the prison," the official said.