The U.S. Department of State has denounced the recent attack on the Hasakah Provincial Internal Security Forces detention center.
According to a press release, the attack was seen as an attempt to ISIS fighters being held at the facility.
"We continue to stand with our partners in the region to counter the remnants of ISIS," U.S. government officials said, according to the press release. " While the Coalition has severely degraded ISIS’s ability to conduct attacks, the group continues its attempts to destabilize the region. The losses sustained by our partners in these attacks are a stark reminder of the very real challenges the region continues to face."
ISIS fighters have long viewed the detention center as a high-priority attack target, and U.S. officials are crediting Syrian fighters for their quick response to the attack and continued commitment to standing up against ISIS across the region.
"We extend our sincere condolences to the families of the guards injured and killed in the initial bomb attack and subsequent fighting," according to the press release. "Attacking the detention facility was a top ISIS priority for more than a year. It is a credit to the diligent, capable efforts of the SDF and Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS forces that they were able to thwart numerous attacks during that period and limit the severity of this one."
The U.S. remains committed to fully funding the Global Coalition and defeating ISIS' attempts to spread its policies.
"This attack highlights the importance of, and the need to fully fund, the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS’s initiatives to improve the secure and humane detention of ISIS fighters, including by strengthening detention facility security," according to the press release. "It also underscores the urgent need for countries of origin to repatriate, rehabilitate, reintegrate, and prosecute, where appropriate, their nationals detained in northeast Syria."
