Some 95 captives escape Islamic State-run jail in Syria

BEIRUT - Around 95 captives have escaped an Islamic State-run prison in northern Syria, a group monitoring the war said on Tuesday, saying the escapees included about 30 Kurdish fighters.

The jailbreak happened in the town of al-Bab, 30 km (20 miles) south of the Turkish frontier, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The escapees also included Syrian civilians and members of Islamic battalions opposed to the more hardline Islamic State, the Observatory said.

Islamic State has put the town on high alert and has been using loudspeakers to tell citizens to capture the escapees, the Observatory said, citing people on the ground.