Abu Sayyaf, ISIS leader, killed in U.S. raid in Syria.
ISIS COMMANDER Abu Sayyaf was killed, his wife Umm Sayyaf who is suspected in ISIL involvement, was captured and is currently being held in Iraq.
Statement by NSC Spokesperson Bernadette Meehan on Counter-ISIL Operation in Syria
Last night, at the President’s direction, U.S. personnel based out of Iraq conducted an operation in al-Amr in eastern Syria to capture an ISIL senior leader known as Abu Sayyaf and his wife Umm Sayyaf. During the course of the operation, Abu Sayyaf was killed when he engaged U.S. forces.
Umm Sayyaf was captured and is currently in U.S. military detention in Iraq. The operation also led to the freeing of a young Yezidi woman who appears to have been held as a slave by the couple. We intend to reunite her with her family as soon as feasible.
No U.S. personnel were killed or injured during this operation.
Abu Sayyaf was a senior ISIL leader who, among other things, had a senior role in overseeing ISIL’s illicit oil and gas operations – a key source of revenue that enables the terrorist organization to carry out their brutal tactics and oppress thousands of innocent civilians. He was also involved with the group’s military operations. We suspect that Umm Sayyaf is a member of ISIL, played an important role in ISIL’s terrorist activities, and may have been complicit in the enslavement of the young woman rescued last night.
The President authorized this operation upon the unanimous recommendation of his national security team and as soon as we had developed sufficient intelligence and were confident the mission could be carried out successfully and consistent with the requirements for undertaking such operations. This operation was conducted with the full consent of Iraqi authorities and, like our existing airstrikes against ISIL in Syria, consistent with domestic and international law.
We are working to determine an ultimate disposition for the detainee that best supports the national security of the United States and of our allies and partners, consistent with domestic and international law. We will follow our usual practice with respect to giving the ICRC notification and access to the detainee.
As Commander-in-Chief, the President is grateful to the brave U.S. personnel who carried out this complex mission as well as the Iraqi authorities for their support of the operation and for the use of their facilities, which contributed to its success. The United States will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our Iraqi partners in our effort to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL.
Good.
It is reaching the point where the US looks willing to cede western Iraq to ISIS, and it won’t matter how many ISIS commanders the US kills. (When you are growing at ~1000/month, a kill here or there isn’t a big loss). So the big question is, how much does Iran want to control the eastern half of Iraq (a lot), and how much force are they willing to send in, now that the US won’t do the fighting for them? (I’m betting “a lot”, but maybe Obama will do some extra bombing missions to get the “nuclear deal” signed.)
The big problem with US policy is its schizophrenia of purpose trying to take out both Da’esh and the Assad regime at the same time. Obama needs to admit he got played and deal with the major threat and let Assad go on with his bad old self. Da’esh has become a franchise that thrives on chaos so the last thing we need is to add more chaos to the mix. Take out Da’esh. Do whatever it takes to stabilize that chunk of land. There is a natural Shia-Awawite crescent that runs from Iran through Iraq to Syria; figure how… Read more »
Not only does consideration of Israel lead to madness, but the Saudi’s, who gave significant funding to Pakistan for their nuclear development, are promising to match anything Iran can do. (Don’t be surprised if the Sauds already have a couple of 50kt drop-ables sitting around).