World's toughest prison houses Brits and terrorists as jailbreak may 'form army'

Panorama Prison in Hasakah, Syria, is currently home to around 42,000 foreigners who are thought to have ties to the Islamic State terrorist group - including two Brits. Shahan Choudhury, 37, and Ibrahim Ageed, 29, have both been holed up in the hell hole jail for around five years.

The former was a grave digger for the group in Syria, while Ageed fled the UK to join the group at the age of 21. The pair have been speaking about their time in the prison to The Times, with other outlets claiming that security experts fear a jailbreak of the hoard of terrorists could lead to an army being created.

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Not much is known about the prison itself, other than claims made by ex-inmates and the British pair in there.

Backing up recent claims by Amnesty International of the horrific state of the prison - including a lack of food and medical care - Choudhury said: "In my first year, I watched at least a thousand people die. In my room right now I am crammed with all the Europeans; many of them are dead. One guy from Sweden is currently very sick. He will probably die and we will watch him. They see this as our punishment.

"I regret it all, I didn't know it would turn out this ugly. I would go back and serve my life in a British prison if they would let me. But they probably won't, so I would go anywhere. I just want to leave."

And Ageeed said: "The longer people are kept here, the more ideology breeds in groups. I believe that there's a reasonable concern from the public about detainees going back to Britain. If I was to get a fair trial they would see themselves if I have been part of atrocities or not part of anything."

The comments and claims from inside the prison have now led to United States Major General Joel Vowell to claim that the place is a huge security threat and that a prison break of any kind could give ISIS a "terrorists army" overnight.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "Our priority remains the safety and security of the UK. We will continue to do whatever is necessary to protect the UK from those who pose a threat to our security."

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