Ibrahim Al Qahtani, an ISIS leader who helped orchestrate prison breaks of terrorists working for the Islamic State in Syria, was killed in a raid by U.S. forces who also seized weapons last week, Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Wednesday.
U.S. and coalition forces carried out the raid on Feb. 10, killing Al Qahtani and capturing ammo, multiple weapons and a suicide belt, according to a CENTCOM tweet. Prison breaks of captured terrorists are a key strategy for Middle Eastern extremist groups like ISIS.
A partnered D-ISIS raid on Feb 10th resulted in the seizure of multiple weapons, ammo, and a suicide belt. We can confirm Ibrahim Al Qahtani, an ISIS official associated with planning ISIS detention center attacks, was killed in the raid. 10,000+ ISIS detainees are held in Syria. pic.twitter.com/ivzwfAA3kY
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) February 15, 2023
“ISIS knows that prison breaks work. They are time tested and generate results,” Deputy Coordinator for Countering Violent Extremism and Terrorist Detentions, Ian Moss, said at an October press briefing.
Over 10,000 ISIS fighters are detained in northeastern Syria, including 5,000 Syrians, 3,000 Iraqis, and 2,000 extremists from outside those two countries, according to the briefing. About 900 U.S. troops remain in Syria to help the Syrian Democratic Forces and other coalition groups suppress ISIS.
Recently, U.S. officials have captured two ISIS officials during another raid in Syria. ISIS leader Abu al-Hassan was also killed in the region by Syrian rebels in November. (RELATED: American Woman Who Trained All-Female ISIS Battalion Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison)
Officials have not revealed whether there were other casualties in the raid or given the exact location.
CENTCOM and the Department of Defense did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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