ByNORTHEASTERN SYRIA — The prison guards undid a giant padlock, swung open a heavy metal door and gestured for us to enter the cell. Inside were 22 prisoners who had been captured in battles with the Islamic State. I peeked in, looked at the two unarmed guards, and hesitated. “Go ahead.”I took a deep breath and went in. We were in the basement of one of a network of prisons run by Kurdish-led forces holding more than 10,000 men who once belonged to the world’s most fearsome terrorist organization.

Source: New York Times October 21, 2019 23:56 UTC