Syrian forces take control of prison housing IS members after Kurdish fighters evacuate

RAQQA, Syria (AP) — Syrian government forces took control Friday of a prison housing members of the Islamic State group in the north of the country, after hundreds of Kurdish fighters who were guarding the facility evacuated the area as part of a recent deal.

Syria’s Interior Ministry said in a statement that the government’s prisons authority is now in charge of al-Aqtan prison, north of the northern city of Raqqa, and that the files of the detainees are being reviewed.

Al-Aqtan is the second prison to come under government control after being abandoned by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF. Syrian troops entered Shaddadeh prison on Monday near the border with Iraq, from where 120 IS detainees managed to flee amid the chaos. Most of them have been recaptured, state media said.

Syria's interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides. A new version of the accord was signed over the weekend, and a four-day ceasefire declared on Tuesday.

The move into al-Aqtan prison comes two days after the U.S. military said that it has started transferring some of the 9,000 IS detainees held in more than a dozen detention centers in northeast Syria controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, in northeast Syria.

The SDF was the main force fighting IS in Syria over the past decade, and in March 2019 captured the last sliver of land that the extremists held.

During the battles against IS, thousands of extremists and tens of thousands of women and children linked to them were taken and held in prisons and at the al-Hol camp, which government forces took control of on Wednesday.

The capture of al-Aqtan prison came after government forces surrounded it from all sides earlier this week during a two-week offensive against the SDF. Raqqa governor Abdul-Rahman Salama said there are up to 2,000 detainees at al-Aqtan, but it wasn't immediately clear how many of them are linked to IS.

Deputy Interior Minister Maj. Gen. Abdul-Qader Tahan visited the prison on Friday to see the conditions of the detention center and the detainees, state television reported.

Negotiations had been ongoing for days, after which a deal was reached to open a corridor for the nearly 800 SDF fighters to head west toward the region of Kobani, which is still controlled by the U.S.-backed group.

Hundreds of people gathered on the sides of snow-covered streets in Kobani waving their hands and some flashing victory signs to welcome the fighters who arrived in vans, buses and pickup trucks. Some people opened fire in the air to welcome the fighters who had been under siege for days.

The SDF said in a statement that with the support of the U.S.-led coalition, the force has completed the transfer of its fighters assigned to securing al-Aqtan Prison “to safe locations.” The SDF said that al-Aqtan prison holds detainees from the IS “terrorist organization.”

The fighters arrived in Kobani as the region is under siege by government forces from three sides, while the border crossing with Turkey from the north remains closed as it has been for years.

Kobani resident Mihemet Bozan told The Associated Press that he had to drive 40 kilometers (25 miles) away from the town to be able to get a cellular signal. Amid freezing temperatures, there is no fuel for heating and the area is running out of diesel needed by bakeries to make bread, he said.

“Conditions are very difficult,” Bozan said, adding that bakeries that are working have long lines of people waiting. “Within a week people will end up without food or water,” he said referring to the siege.

The government push into northeast Syria in early January led thousands of mainly Kurds to flee into the northeastern province of Hassakeh, which has a large Kurdish community.

A four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday night, after several previous truces collapsed. As part of a deal signed Sunday by interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi, the U.S.-backed force should merge into the ministries of defense and interior.

U.S. envoy Tom Barrack said in a statement on Tuesday that the SDF’s role as Syria’s primary anti-IS force “has largely expired” since the new government is “both willing and positioned to take over security responsibilities.” The U.S. isn't interested in “prolonging a separate SDF role,” he said.

On Wednesday, U.S. and Iraqi officials said that Iraq had requested that IS detainees be transferred to Iraq, and Washington accepted the idea. The Syrian government welcomed the deal to transfer the prisoners after it was made public on Wednesday saying it will help in the process.

Representatives from the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR were able to gain access to al-Hol camp, which houses family members of accused IS militants, on Friday along with Syrian government officials, after “a three-day interruption caused by the volatile security situation” inside the sprawling facility, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

SDF fighters had been guarding the camp but abandoned their posts amid this week's fighting. Government forces have now taken over security at the camp.

Haq said U.N. trucks carrying bread entered the camp and the U.N. has been able to partially restore water supplies with help from UNHCR and the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF.

He said the U.N. refugee agency aims to manage the camp.

As for the situation in Kobani, Haq said U.N. humanitarian officials report that all roads connecting to the city are currently closed and “interruptions to the power supply, water and Internet are hampering people’s access to basic services.”

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Associated Press journalists Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Edith Lederer at the United Nations contributed.

Syrian government forces drive inside the al-Aqtan prison after taking control of it from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, in Raqqa, northeastern Syria, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian government forces walk in the al-Aqtan prison after taking control of it from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, in Raqqa, northeastern Syria, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian government forces stand guard at the al-Aqtan prison after taking control of it from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, in Raqqa, northeastern Syria, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

An aerial view shows the al-Aqtan prison after government troops took control of it from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF, in Raqqa, northeastern Syria, Friday, Jan. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Syrian government forces stand guard outside Al-Aqtan prison on the outskirts of Raqqa, northeastern Syria, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, as negotiations are underway between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces over a withdrawal from the prison. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the dean of South Carolina’s Democrats, said Thursday that he will run for an 18th House term, a move that could position him as an influential elder statesman in Congress if his party regains the majority in November.

The decision by the 85-year-old lawmaker cuts against calls for generational change within the party. Clyburn is one of several veteran Democrats running again instead of stepping aside for younger politicians whose frustration increased in the wake of President Joe Biden's failed reelection campaign.

“I’m here today to say I do believe that I’m very well equipped and healthy enough to move into the next term, trying to do the things that are necessary to continue that pursuit of perfection," Clyburn said at state party headquarters in Columbia. “And so I will run a very vigorous campaign.”

Clyburn is among the oldest Democrats serving in Washington, and the only member of the last Democratic leadership team who is looking to stick around. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and former Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland both plan to retire at the end of their current terms.

Clyburn said that he sought counsel from his three daughters before making his announcement. One of them — Mignon Clyburn, a former member of the Federal Communications Commission — said she was concerned about the political vitriol that her father would face in Washington.

“Her interest was in her daddy and what she thought I might be subjected to,” Clyburn said. “When Mignon finally had decided that she could live with it, I’m here."

Clyburn said he heard from another woman that "'we don’t listen to them people up there, and you should not. You should listen to the people down here, and we don’t want you to leave.’ And so I’m responding to the people that are here.”

Clyburn served as majority whip and assistant Democratic leader. Remaining in Congress for another term could give him a chance to serve alongside the first Black speaker of the House as Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York is in line for the gavel should Democrats win control. Clyburn for many years was the highest-ranking Black lawmaker in the House.

On Thursday, asked about the prospect of being able to advise Jeffries, Clyburn said the two spoke recently about a possible working relationship in the next Congress.

“He expressed an interest in my being a part of his leadership, if we were to take the House back," Clyburn said. “It made me feel necessary.”

Four years ago, when Clyburn announced his bid for a 16th term, he told The Associated Press that he intended to keep campaigning as long as his health and support from his family remained stalwart.

“I’ve told them, if you ever see that I need to go to the rocking chair or spend my spare time on the golf course, let me know,” he said describing his daughters' counsel.

Clyburn won his 2024 reelection by more than 20 percentage points. First elected in 1992, he represents the district that sweeps from areas around the capital of Columbia through rural central and eastern counties down to Charleston.

Should he serve an 18th term, Clyburn would become the longest-serving South Carolinian ever in the U.S. House. Time horizons are longer for the state’s U.S. senators, two of whom — Republican Strom Thurmond and Democrat Fritz Hollings — served 48 years and nearly 39 years, respectively.

Filing for election in this year’s elections in South Carolina opens Monday and closes March 30. South Carolina’s primary elections will be held June 9.

Whenever Clyburn does leave office, the competition to be his successor will be fierce. He is the only Democrat representing his state in Washington.

As to whether his 18th term could be his last, Clyburn called that an “open question.”

“I’m looking forward to the day that I can spend more time reading, writing and playing golf, and so this could very well be to my last term,” he said. “And it could very well not be.”

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://x.com/MegKinnardAP

Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., signs his candidacy paperwork to seek an 18th U.S. House term during an event at the South Carolina Democratic Party headquarters, Thursday, March 12, 2026, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Meg Kinnard)

Former President Joe Biden embraces Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., before speaking to the South Carolina Democratic Party on Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)

Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., speaks ahead of former President Joe Biden, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)