Join WhatsApp Channel
Join Telegram ChannelA top Islamic State leader in Syria has been captured by U.S. and coalition forces for his role in aiding Islamic State terrorists after they escaped from a high-ranking detention center, defense officials said Monday as the United States steps up operations against the Islamic State.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) forces captured Khaled Ahmed al-Dandal on Sunday after he was accused of helping the terrorist organization achieve one of its main goals, namely freeing detained militant fighters and reviving ISIS.
Al-Dandal, considered by CENTCOM to be an “ISIS facilitator,” aided five IS terrorists after they escaped from the Raqqah detention center on Thursday, although it is unclear whether he also helped secure their escape from prison.
Syrian Kurdish security forces stand by as former detainees suspected of being members of the Islamic State group are released in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakeh on September 2, 2024. (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)
US, Iraq team up to kill 15 Islamic State members in early morning raid, US military says
SDF fighters recaptured two of the IS militants, including imam Abdulwahed Akhwan, who is Russian, and Muhammad Noh Muhammad, a Libyan.
Another Russian, Timor Talbrken Abdash, and two Afghans, Shuab Muhammad Al-Abdli and Atal Khaled Zar, are still at large.
“More than 9,000 ISIS members remain in more than 20 SDF detention centers in Syria, a veritable ‘ISIS army’ in detention,” CENTCOM Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement. “If a large number of these ISIS fighters were to escape, it would pose an extreme danger to the region and beyond.”
“We will continue to work with the international community to repatriate these ISIS fighters to their countries of origin for final judgment,” he added.
News of the latest arrest came just four days after U.S. and Iraqi forces conducted a raid against ISIS leaders in western Iraq on Aug. 29, in which 15 ISIS terrorists were killed, according to CENTCOM.
The operation was aimed at “disrupting and degrading ISIS's ability to plan, organize and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians, as well as U.S. citizens, allies and partners throughout the region and beyond,” CENTCOM said in a message posted to X on Friday.
Iraqi army soldiers celebrate while holding an Islamic State group flag they captured during a military operation to retake a village outside Mosul, Iraq, November 29, 2016. A decade after the Islamic State group declared its caliphate in large parts of Iraq and Syria, the extremists no longer control any territory, have lost many prominent founding leaders and are mostly out of the world's headlines. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, file)
ISIS THREAT RISES IN SYRIA AND IRAQ AS US MILITARY PREDICTS TERRORIST ATTACKS COULD DOUBLE BY 2024
“The ISIS element was equipped with numerous weapons, grenades and suicide explosive belts,” the command added, noting that no civilians were injured in the operation.
The United States, in coordination with allied forces in the Middle East, has conducted some 200 operations against ISIS this year alone, including airstrikes and raids, Dr. Rebecca Grant, vice president of the Lexington Institute in Washington, DC, told Fox News.
“The 'Defeat ISIS' mission has been very active because ISIS attacks in this region, around Iraq and Syria, are increasing,” she said, calling the operation a “real success.”
Seven US soldiers were injured during the operation, but the extent of their injuries remains unknown.
U.S. Army soldiers prepare to depart on patrol from a remote combat outpost, May 25, 2021, in northeastern Syria. U.S. forces, part of Task Force WARCLUB, are operating from combat outposts in the area in coordination with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to combat ISIS remnants and deter pro-Iranian militias. (John Moore/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS INFO
“During the operation, five U.S. personnel were injured. One was evacuated for further treatment. Two additional U.S. personnel were injured as a result of falls during the operation, and one was also evacuated out of theater for follow-up care. All personnel are in stable condition,” a U.S. defense official told Fox News Digital.
CENTCOM says it remains “committed” to working with coalition partners in the Middle East to “defeat” ISIS and ensure stability in the region.
Liz Friden and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.