US forces capture ISIS leader who helped terrorists escape prison in Syria

On Sunday, the US captured ISIS leader Khaled Ahmed al-Dandal, who previously helped members of the terrorist organization escape from a detention facility in Syria. According to US Central Command, US forces in cooperation with Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), captured Al-Dandal days after five ISIS foreign terrorists escaped from the Raqqah Detention Facility.

SDF recaptured two escapees: Imam Abdulwahed Akhwan, a Russian, and Muhammad Noh Muhammad, a Libyan. Three remain at large, Russian Timor Talbrken Abdash and Afghanis Shuab Muhammad Al-Abdli, and Atal Khaled Zar. Al-Dandal was reportedly the “facilitator” of their escape.

Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander, said in a statement, “Over 9,000 ISIS detainees remain in over 20 SDF detention facilities in Syria, a literal and figurative ‘ISIS Army’ in detention. 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.”

According to CENTCOM, a primary objective of ISIS remains to free their fighters currently held in detention and subsequently fuel an ISIS revival. Last week, the US military and Iraqi Security Forces targeted ISIS terrorists in a raid in Western Iraq that left at least 15 of the group’s members dead, according to the AP.

Last month, ISIS-affiliated terrorists threatened Taylor Swift concerts in Austria. In addition, ISIS claimed a recent mass stabbing attack in the city of Solingen in Germany.