Turkey's Syria incursion may allow ISIS to attempt mass prison break amid US withdrawal, Kurdish fighters warn

ISIS fighters and other terrorists comprising the more than 10,000 Islamic militants jailed in northeast Syria could launch a mass prison break as U.S. troops withdraw from the region in response to Turkey's impending incursion, Syrian Kurdish fighters warned Monday.

The imminent cross-border military operation pitting Turkey against the Syrian Kurds -- a group Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan views as terrorists amid a bloody Kurdish insurgency plaguing his country -- is likely to further destabilize an already volatile area and has already led Kurds there to accuse the U.S. of abandoning them. U.S. troops have fought alongside the Syrian Kurdish fighters for years in the successful effort to topple ISIS' so-called caliphate that put the terror group in control of huge swaths of Syria and Iraq. But now, the 1,000 or so American troops left in the northern part of the country will begin pulling back as Turkish forces push ahead.

“The American forces did not abide by their commitments and withdrew their forces along the border with Turkey,” the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said in a Monday statement, warning Turkey's offensive would have a "huge negative effect" on the continuing campaign to wipe out ISIS.

Mustafa Bali, the SDF spokesman, said in a tweet that his group was not expecting the U.S. to protect northeastern Syria. But he also slammed the troop exodus for essentially removing a major roadblock that had managed to keep Turkey's ambitions in the region in check.

“People here are owed an explanation regarding the security mechanism deal and destruction of fortifications," Bali tweeted.

And while news of the U.S. pullout stunned Syrian Kurds, the announcement also "completely blindsided" top brass at the Pentagon, U.S. officials told Fox News.

Aside from the existential threat to the Kurdish fighters posed by Turkey, Syrian Kurdish forces are also warning that ISIS sleeper cells are actively plotting to free about 12,000 militants currently detained by the Kurds and may take advantage of the Turkey-triggered turmoil to aid their plans.

Those in custody include about 2,500 foreign fighters from Europe and elsewhere whose native countries have been reluctant to take them back — and about 10,000 other captured fighters from Syria and Iraq.

[link to www.foxnews.com (secure)]

Bad idea to pull out.