Kobane prison fire kills at least seven, state TV says

State television said at least seven prisoners died and dozens were injured after inmates started a fire during a riot at Kobane prison in northern Syria.

The broadcaster said the blaze spread to several dormitories in the Kurdish-majority town. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said prisoners started the fire, saying they feared they were about to be transferred, and put the death toll at nine.

The Democratic Union Party, Syria's most powerful Kurdish party, gave a similar account and said the prisoners were protesting against an attempt by public security forces to move them outside the city.

The riot came during unrest over the killing of Sami Shekhmous Hiso, a former Kurdish fighter also known as Sepan. He was reportedly kidnapped before his body was returned with bullet wounds on Thursday in Hasakeh province.

State television said “outlaws” attacked police cars and the Internal Security Directorate building during violence on Friday and that security forces were deployed.

Sipan Hamo, the regional assistant defence minister and a former senior Kurdish military official, said several people had been arrested over Hiso's killing and urged residents to show restraint. Hasakeh province governor Noureddine Ahmed Eissa condemned what he called a “heinous crime”.

Syrian Internal Security Forces, part of the Damascus government, said administration of Kobane prison had not yet been transferred to government authorities and that an investigation had been opened.

Kobane has symbolic importance for Kurds because Kurdish fighters defeated Islamic State group jihadists there in 2015. The prison riot was the first security incident reported since Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi announced the dissolution of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces after saying Kurdish civilian and military institutions had been integrated into the Syrian state.