Kurdish Rudaw website reports around 1500 Islamic State members escaped from Syria's Shaddadi prison

CAIRO, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The Kurdish website Rudaw reported that a spokesperson for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, Farhad Shami, said around 1500 Islamic State members escaped from Syria's Shaddadi prison.

Earlier, the Syrian army said "a number of" Islamic State militants had escaped a prison that had been under SDF control in the eastern city of Shaddadi, accusing the SDF of releasing them. The army did not say how many escaped.