Inside the prisons where remnants of Islamic State are held in limbo

In northeastern Syria, prisons and detention camps hold thousands of men, women and children whose lives are in limbo nearly a year after the final defeat of Islamic State to which they once belonged. (Reuters)

The area around Qamishli city is mainly controlled by Kurdish fighters who helped defeat the Islamist militant group. They have since been pushed into a small pocket of northeastern Syria by Turkish-led forces who consider them a security threat, Reuters reported. (Reuters)

Conditions in the prison near Hasaka, which used to be a school before being transformed to cope with the influx of captives, were markedly worse than those at the central jail. (Reuters)

Beyond the prisons, thousands of mostly woman and children are detained in camps in the area. In pic: Children hold onto water containers in al-Hol camp, Syria. (Reuters)

In a hospital on the ground floor, about 100 men crowded on to around half the number of beds suffering from ailments and injuries. Several were in orange jumpsuits, similar to those often worn by IS captives before they were executed. (Reuters)

The al-Hol facility in Hasaka province is the biggest and holds tens of thousands of people in a sprawling camp of white canvas tents that provide minimal shelter from the winter cold and rain. (Reuters)