At least 20 inmates belonging to Islamic State escape Syrian prison after the earthquake

Taking advantage of a deadly earthquake that has left thousands dead, at least 20 prisoners escaped a Syrian prison on Monday. The jail inmates mutinied in the aftermath of the earthquake and managed to escape.

The military police prison, situated in the town of Rajo in southwestern Syria houses over 2,000 inmates with nearly1,300 belongingto the terror outfit Islamic State.

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"After the earthquake struck, Rajo was affected and inmates started to mutiny and took control of parts of the prison," a jail official was quoted as saying by AFP.

"About 20 prisoners fled...who are believed to be IS terrorists."

WATCH |Turkiye, Syria jolted by massive earthquakes, over thousand killed

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor released a statement saying it could not verify if the prisoners had escaped but confirmed there was a mutiny.

The alleged escape of the IS operatives comes a little more than a month after the terror outfit conducted an attack in Raqa to free the jihadists.

WATCH | Drone footage shows the devastating earthquake aftermath in Turkey

On Monday, while most of the populace across Turkey and Syria was sound asleep, an earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale with epicentre near the Syrian border struck the region.

The powerful shockwaves sent the buildings dangling while several high-rises were flattened in an instant. Tsunami alerts were issued by Italy, which was later withdrawn.

While the surviving people had barely braved the first earthquake, an aftershock measuring 7.5 hit the region a few hours later, further piling on the misery.

Going by the initial estimates, United Nations has predicted that the death toll could rise to more than 20,000.

Read more: Death toll in Turkiye-Syria earthquake soars to 4,300, more casualties feared

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoganhas declared a seven-day national mourning. Meanwhile, international communities have rushed to help the disaster-hit nation. Many countries have come forward to send aid and rescue workers.

However, given the scale of the devastation, it could take months to get the final picture. The priority remains to save those, who might still be breathing under the debris.

(With inputs from agencies)

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