US captures three suspected members of Islamic State in a raid in Syria

23 Jan. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The United States Army announced this Sunday that it has captured three suspected members of the Islamic State in an air and ground raid in eastern Syria.

The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) has indicated in a statement that the incursion took place this Saturday and that a logistics specialist, an Islamic State intermediary and a “partner” of the jihadist organization have been captured.

“This operation reaffirms CENTCOM’s firm commitment to the region and the enduring defeat of Islamic State,” US Central Command spokesman Joe Buccino said.

“The capture will disrupt the ability of the terrorist organization to plot and carry out a greater number of attacks that threaten regional security and stability,” Buccino explained.

The general added that the terrorist group “represents a threat” both to Washington’s partners and to “the people of Iraq, Syria and more.” “Our mission to defeat the Islamic State continues with our partners in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF),” he concluded.

Likewise, CENTCOM has reported that a civilian has been injured in the framework of the incursion. “The wounded civilian has been escorted by our associated forces to a nearby medical care center along with a relative, who has subsequently accompanied him back to his home,” the letter reads.

In mid-December, the US Army confirmed the resumption of joint patrols with the SDF, after they had been suspended in November due to Turkish bombing in the framework of Operation ‘Sword Claw’, a campaign of bombing against Kurdish groups after the bomb attack perpetrated on November 13 in the Turkish city of Istanbul, which left six dead and more than 80 injured.

The Turkish government has accused the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) of the attack in Istanbul and has said that the main suspect had received orders from the Kurdish-Syrian militia People’s Protection Units (YPG) -main element of the SDF- -, although both the PKK and the SDF have disassociated themselves from the attack.