US announces arrest of Islamic State leader in Syria

September 3 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The US military announced on Monday the arrest of a leader of the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria during an operation supported by the Kurdish-Arab militia of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) aimed at recapturing jihadists who had managed to escape from captivity.

“US Central Command (CENTCOM) forces, in partnership with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have captured an Islamic State leader believed to be aiding Islamic State fighters after he escaped from a detention facility in Raqqa, Syria,” CENTCOM announced on its X social media account.

The operation took place in the early hours of 1 September and resulted in the arrest of Khaled Ahmed al Dandal, a collaborator of the jihadist group who was providing assistance to the terrorists who had escaped from prison.

“On August 29, five Islamic State foreign terrorist fighters (two Russians, two Afghans and one Libyan) escaped from the Raqqa detention center. SDF recaptured two of the escapees: Imam Abdulwahed Akhwan (Russian) and Muhammad Noh Muhammad (Libyan). The search continues for the three who remain at large: Timor Talbrken Abdash (Russian) and Shuab Muhammad al Abdli and Atal Khaled Zar (both Afghans),” the letter reads.

In this regard, CENTCOM has stressed that one of the terrorist group’s main objectives is the release of its more than 9,000 fighters detained in SDF facilities in order to achieve its resurgence.

“If a large number of these Islamic State 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 fighters to their home countries for final prosecution,” CENTCOM added.