Turkey-Syria Earthquake: 'Mutiny' at prison holding suspected terrorists

Following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake which caused widespread destruction in Turkey and Syria, various outlets are reporting that at least 20 suspected terrorist inmates have escaped a prison in Syria on Monday amid a mutiny.

The military police prison in the town of Rajo near the Turkish border holds about 2,000 inmates, with the majority suspected to be terrorist fighters.

After the earthquake struck, inmates took control of parts of the prison, according to an official at the jail, which is controlled by Turkish-backed opposition forces.

The 7.8 magnitude quake was followed by dozens of aftershocks which caused damage to the prison, with walls and doors cracking, the official added.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said it could not verify whether prisoners had escaped, but confirmed there was a mutiny.

A senior World Health Organisation (WHO) official has estimated that the earthquake has affected 23 million people, including 1.4 million children.