US forces capture ISIS 'attack facilitator' in eastern Syria

Capture comes a week after strike killed a senior terror group leader in country's north-west region

US soldiers and members of the Syrian Democratic Forces take part in military exercises in Hasakah governorate, Syria. EPA

US forces this week captured ISIS “attack facilitator” Hudayfah Al Yemeni in north-eastern Syria, Central Command announced on Wednesday.

An April 8 helicopter raid resulted in Al Yemeni's capture along with two of his associates, Centcom said. It added that the US operation “will disrupt the organisation's ability to plot and carry out operations”.

There were no civilian casualties.

Al Yemeni is currently in the custody of US troops and will soon be moved to the custody of Syrian Democratic Forces for processing, Centcom spokesman Col Joe Buccino told The National.

American troops have been in Syria since 2015 in a mission focused on countering Iran-backed militias and preventing the resurgence of ISIS, in partnership with the Kurdish-led SDF.

Despite being defeated in Syria in 2019, the terrorist group continues to wage a low-level insurgency across northern Iraq and Syria, and often attacks members of the SDF.

Last week, a US strike killed senior ISIS leader Khalid Aydd Ahmad Al Jabouri in Syria's north-west.

“ISIS remains a threat to the region and beyond — the group retains the capability to conduct operations in Iraq and Syria with a desire to strike beyond the Middle East, and its vile ideology remains a threat," Col Buccino said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Operations such as this one reaffirms our commitment to the enduring defeat of ISIS."

Mike McCaul, chairman of the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee, praised the operation.

"The capture of these ISIS affiliates is proof of the tireless work that our military members do to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS," Mr McCaul said in a Wednesday statement.

But there are corners of Washington that have become sceptical over the 900-troop presence in Syria after a drone attack killed an American contractor at a US base in Hasakah governorate last month.

Far-right Representative Matt Gaetz introduced a war powers resolution this year that would have withdrawn troops from the country, but the bill failed to pass the House of Representatives.

Centcom chief Gen Michael Kurilla told the House Armed Services Committee last month that ISIS would return to power in “one to two years” if the US were to withdraw from its mission in Syria.