A January 2022 attack against a Kurdish-controlled prison in the northern Syrian town of Hasakah was organised together with members of the Islamic State and the Turkish intelligence, according to a senior Kurdish commander.

Newroz Ehmed, a member of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces’ general command, answered the question of the Fırat News agency as the first anniversary of the attack approaches.

“One year has passed since the attack in Hasakah. Of course, lots of people have been arrested during this period. A multi-dimensional investigation was launched,” Ehmed said about the incident in which a car bomb was detonated by ISIS near a prison to facilitate the escape of some inmates.

“This attack was organised at the highest level. Following attacks that were thwarted, this attack was organised by a narrow group of people at the higher levels. It was organised by the ISIS’ high level executives living in places invaded by Turkey,” Ehmed said.

According to the commander, the Turkish Intelligence Agency (MİT) planned how people and ammunition would be transported to Hasakah before the attack. “It was not an attack only planned by ISIS. It was organised by Turkey itself,” Ehmed said.

The aim of the attack was to ensure the escape of ISIS members in prison to Iraq, the commander said, adding that those arrested after the attack confessed the details on how the attack was organised.