The roughly 40 individuals being taken into U.S. custody, all considered important Islamic State figures, had been held in a constellation of small prisons in northeastern Syria run by Syrian Kurdish forces who have been the Pentagon’s primary partner against the Islamic State in Syria. “We are taking some of the most dangerous ISIS fighters out,” President Donald Trump said at the White House on Wednesday, using an acronym for the Islamic State. The British men are accused of involvement in the beheading of Americans James Foley, Steven Sotloff and Peter Kassig, as well as other Western hostages. A fourth American, Kayla Mueller, was killed while being held hostage by the Islamic State, but the exact cause of her death was not confirmed. But they say they were among a very small group of Islamic State members who knew Emwazi’s true identity, first reported in The Post in early 2015.

Source: National Post October 10, 2019 03:33 UTC