"Jaish al-Islam
...Liwa al-Islam (Brigade of Islam) was established by Zahran Alloush, the son of Saudi-based religious scholar Abdullah Mohammed Alloush, after Syrian authorities released him from prison in mid-2011 where he had been serving time for his Salafist activism. The group claimed responsibility for carrying out the July 2012 Damascus bombing that killed Defense Minister Dawoud Rajiha, Deputy Defense Minister Asef Shawkat, and Assistant Vice President Hassan Turkmani. It was a driving force behind actions in the Damascus region. It cooperated and conducted joint operations with al-Nusra. In Sptember 2013 Saudi Arabia engineered Liwa al-Islam's merger with fifty other more or less Salafist groups as a counterweight to al-Nusra, which the Learned Elders of Islam considered was growing too powereful...entered Adra prison and seized two buildings in the women's section of the complex," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
The rebels launched an offensive Wednesday on the regime-held complex, which lies in the Eastern Ghouta suburb of Damascus, capturing a hilltop before seizing part of the facility, he told AFP.
"Most of the prisoners there are activists, political figures, and human rights
...not to be confused with
individual rights,mind you...
defenders who are against the regime" of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir
Pencilneckal-Assad
Terror of Aleppo ...
, said Abdel Rahman.
At least 5,000 prisoners are being held at the facility, almost twice its capacity of about 3,000 prisoners, he added.
When Jaish al-Islam announced their upcoming offensive, security personnel in the women's section fled, taking the female detainees with them.
In an online statement, the rebel group said it had taken control of a hilltop and buildings around the prison as well.
Video footage published alongside the statement showed men firing heavy weapons beyond a wall of sandbags, while others darted between buildings carrying machine guns.
Corpses which the rebels claimed to be security forces who died trying to defend the prison could also be seen in the video.
Jaish al-Islam is the most powerful rebel group in the opposition stronghold of Eastern Ghouta, where Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, Al-Nusra Front, is also present.
The prison in Adra has been targeted in the past by heavy rocket fire, and last month at least 11 people were killed and 56 maimed when rockets fell outside the prison, according to state media.