Sept. 2 (UPI) — U.S. Central Command forces and Syrian Democratic Forces captured an ISIS leader who helped fighters escape from Raqqah detention facility in Syria, the U.S. military said Monday.
Early Sunday, they caught Khaled Ahmed al-Dandal, an ISIS facilitator assessed to be aiding their escape, according to a news release.
On Thursday, five ISIS foreign terrorist fighter detainees — two Russians, two Afghans and one Libyan — escaped from the detention facility in Ar Raqqah in northern Syria. SDF recaptured two escapees: Imam Abdulwahed Akhwan, of Russia, and Muhammad Noh Muhammad, of Libya.
The forces are searching for the three who remain at large: Timor Talbrken Abdash of Russia, and Shuab Muhammad Al-Abdli and Atal Khaled Zar, of Afghanistan.
Central Command said a primary objective of ISIS remains to free their fighters in detention and subsequently revive ISIS.
“Over 9,000 ISIS detainees remain in over 20 SDF detention facilities in Syria, a literal and figurative ‘ISIS Army’ in detention,” Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander of U.S. Central Command, said. “If a large number of these ISIS fighters escaped, 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 adjudication.”
Central Command “remains committed to supporting our SDF partners to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS and to promote regional stability,” according to the release.
On Thursday, seven U.S. service members were wounded in a separate raid against ISIS in Iraq. Working with the Iraqi Security Forces, the operation killed 15 ISIS militants, U.S. officials said. The militaries targeted the hideouts of several ISIS leaders.
All of the injured service members are stable, according to Central Command.