US official comments on the escape of ISIS in Syria

"We haven't seen any large-scale escape of the detainees so far," a senior administration official, who asked not to be named, told reporters on Tuesday.

He added that between 50 and 150 wives and children of the group's prisoners fled during the chaos that followed the Turkish attack last week, stressing that US forces did not know where they went.

The US official noted that Washington does not have the same ability to monitor that as before, acknowledging the decline in US capabilities with the withdrawal of troops on the orders of President Donald Trump.

Turkey's October 9 military operation against the "Kurdish Protection Units" in northeast Syria raises fears that foreign terrorists detained in that area may flee or be released.

Some 12,000 ISIS terrorists, including 2,500 to 3,000 foreigners, are being held in Kurdish-controlled prisons, according to Kurdish sources.