US military captures Isis leader in Syria

Khaled Ahmed al-Dandal believed to have helped five Isis detainees escape from a Raqqah Detention Facility

The US Pentagon (pictured). The military has captured an Isis leader who helped five detainees escape from a detention center in Syria (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The US military has captured an Isis leader who helped other terrorist fighters escape from a detention facility in Syria on Sunday, Central Command announced.

Aided by Syrian Democratic Forces, the US military captured Khaled Ahmed al-Dandal, days after he is believed to have helped five Isis detainees escape from a Raqqah Detention Facility.

The operation occurred during the “early morning hours” on Sunday. Central Command did not provide details about where or how al-Dandal was captured.

Last week, the five Isis fighters managed to escape from the detention center. The Syrian Democratic Forces captured two of the five escapees but three others remain at large.

“Over 9,000 Isis detainees remain in over 20 SDF detention facilities in Syria, a literal and figurative ‘Isis Army’ in detention,” General Michael Erik Kurilla, a commander with the US Central Command, said in a press release.

A fighter of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands guard along a road in Syria's northeastern on September 4, 2023. The US military teamed up with the SDF to capture an Isis leader who helped detainees escape (AFP via Getty Images)

“If a large number of these Isis fighters escaped, it would pose an extreme danger to the region and beyond,” Kurilla added.

Central Command said that “a primary objective” of Isis is to free their fighters being held in detention centers in order to “fuel an Isis revival.”

Al-Dandal’s capture arrived days after the U.S. military and Iraqi Security Forces carried out a joint raid operation that killed 15 Isis operatives. During that mission, seven American service members were wounded but are in stable condition.

Isis – or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria – is a terrorist organization that uses violent, targeted attacks to enforce its extremist interpretation of Islamic law.

The group was once affiliated with al-Qaeda but has branched off to carry out or influence mass bombings and attacks worldwide. These include the November 2015 Paris attacks, the July 2016 Baghdad bombings, the 2021 Kabul airport attack, and the 2024 Crocus City Hall attack in Moscow.

The terrorist group has lost much of its core territory in Syria and Iraq but is still an active threat throughout the region.

More than 2,500 American troops remain in Iraq on a training and advisory mission to help Iraqi military forces in the fight against Isis.

Central Command said it will continue to coordinate with the Syrian Democratic Forces over threats of future escapees and work with the international community to send Isis fighters back to their countries to face judgment.