Syrian Rebels Claim They Seized Major Government Prison

Syrian rebels seized part of a major government prison near Aleppo after it staged a car bomb attack, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The official media of the Assad regime said it repelled the attack by “armed terrorists” and that a “large number of their members [were] dead and wounded,” but other sources said the rebels succeeded in taking over at least part of the prisoner and freed hundreds of prisoners.

The rebels said they freed thousands of prisoners, including women. As usual, all reports from the regime and rebels have to be taken with more than grain of salt.

The prison in Aleppo is a key part of Assad’s suppressive regime, and if prisoners were freed, they could provide first-hand accounts of torture.