US-backed fighters chase IS gunmen near prison in Syria

By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Officials and activists say Kurdish-led fighters advanced slowly under the cover of U.S.-led coalition air power in Syria’s northeast. Intense clashes with Islamic State militants took place Saturday around a prison where thousands of extremists were held. The fighting came as the U.S.-backed fighters brought more reinforcements in an attempt to regain control of areas near a prison that were taken by IS militants. The fighting broke out Thursday night when IS unleashed its biggest attack in Syria since the fall of its “caliphate” three years ago. More than 100 militants assaulted the main prison holding suspected extremists in the city of Hassakeh.