US Captures ISIS Fighter Who Won't Be Getting Near Gitmo

U.S. Special Forces captured a significant Islamic State operative in Iraq, Reuters and other news sources reported, the first of several expected to be caught in raids by an elite force sent in recent weeks to target the jihadist group’s fighters and leaders.

Questions immediately arose about what would be done with those captured alive after they have been interrogated. 

U.S. officials said they don't intend to establish a long-term American facility to hold Islamic State detainees, reported The New York Times, and Obama administration officials ruled out sending any to the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

CNN said two U.S. officials confirmed the ISIS operative was captured in northern Iraq as part of a highly secretive 200-member targeting team led by the Army's elite Delta Force. They said the detainee is being interrogated by the U.S. and is expected to be turned over to Iraqi officials in coming days.

The Times said the unidentified detainee was being interrogated in a temporary facility in the Kurdish city of Erbil, but defense officials cited by the newspaper provided few other details.

A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment on details of the force’s missions but said any detention would be “short term and coordinated with Iraqi authorities,” said The Times

Iraqi and Kurdish military spokesmen declined immediate comment, said Reuters.

CNN said the secretive U.S. force captured the senior operative in its first missions after spending several weeks on the ground developing intelligence.

The new intelligence gleaned from raids and interrogations will be used to develop further targeting for follow-up missions.

Special Operations forces captured the wife of key ISIS figure Abu Sayyaf during a raid in Syria last year and subsequently turned her over to Iraqi authorities. U.S. officials have long said the information gleaned from her helped them decide to form a special targeting force, said CNN.

The Times cited Defense Department officials in saying there were no plans to hold the detainee or others indefinitely, and that they would be handed over to Iraqi or Kurdish authorities after they have been interviewed.

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