U.S. Special Forces kill senior ISIS figure in Syria. ("with the full consent of Iraqi authorities")

U.S. Special Forces killed a senior leader from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and captured his wife in eastern Syria, Pentagon chief Ashton Carter said Friday, according to Agence France-Presse.

The ISIS militant, Abu Sayyaf, “was killed during the course of the operation when he engaged U.S. forces,” Carter said in a statement.

The senior leader was involved in military operations of ISIS and helped direct its oil, gas and financial operations.

The White House said President Barack Obama ordered the raid that killed the man.

In the course of the dramatic operation, a Yazidi woman believed to have been enslaved by the couple was rescued as well, officials said.

The Yazidis, a religious minority in northwest Iraq with ancient origins, have been persecuted by the ISIS militants and rights groups say Yazidi women have been kidnapped, raped and sold among the extremists.

U.S. forces suffered no casualties in the night raid, officials said, without offering details about how many troops were involved or what units were deployed.

The raid was carried out with the full approval of the Iraqi government, officials said.

White House National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said in a statement that U.S. personnel based out of Iraq conducted the operation in al-Amr in eastern Syria.

"During the course of the operation, Abu Sayyaf was killed when he engaged U.S. forces," Meehan said.

"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," Meehan said.

• Meehan said the operation was conducted "with the full consent of Iraqi authorities" and "consistent with domestic and international law".

The White House also said that Abu Sayyaf's wife was captured and is in U.S. military detention in Iraq.

U.S. officials suspect she “played an important role in ISIS's terrorist activities, and may have been complicit in the enslavement of the young woman rescued last night,” the White House said.
 [alarabiya.net]
16/5/15
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