Two "high-value" jihadists who were being detained by Syrian Kurds have been taken into US custody. Turkey launched an assault on the Syrian Kurdish forces sparking fears that the offensive could lead to captured fighters they held escaping and reconstituting the group.
The jihadists have been moved out of the country, a defence official said Wednesday, as reports identified them as notorious British fighters dubbed "The Beatles."
The US had partnered with Syrian Kurdish forces to combat the Islamic State group in Syria.
"I can confirm that we've taken custody of two high-value ISIS individuals from the SDF," the defence official said on condition of anonymity, referring to the Islamic State group and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces that held the captured jihadists.
"They have been moved out of Syria and are in a secure location," the official said, without identifying where.
The two jihadists were identified by the US media as part of an extremely violent all-British four-man cell that kidnapped and tortured foreigners, including journalists, at the height of Islamic State group's power in Syria and Iraq. They have also been accused of abducting and decapitating around 20 hostages including American journalist James Foley, who was beheaded in 2012.
One other was killed in a drone strike and the fourth is imprisoned on terror charges in Turkey.
US President Donald Trump in the meantime defended his decision to withdraw US troops from Syria by saying the Kurds didn’t fight alongside the US in the second world war. “We have spent a tremendous amount of money helping the Kurds,” the president said. “They’re fighting for their land. When you say they’re fighting with the US, yes. But they’re fighting for their land.”
Prompted by this announcement by Trump, the Turkish military launched an attack in northeast Syria on Wednesday to pushback Kurds from the border. So far, eight people have been killed and dozens injured. Trump called the Turkish offensive a 'bad idea'.
Kurdish forces say they will suspend anti-ISIS operations to deal with an offensive attack by Turkey. According to the Turkish Defence Ministry, its armed forces hit a total of 181 targets in Syria.
US President Donald Trump had earlier said that the US was taking steps to prevent the potential escape of particularly dangerous Islamic State group fighters amid the Turkish offensive.
"We are taking some of the most dangerous ISIS fighters out and we're putting them in different locations where it's secure," Trump said at the White House.
Kurds, a longtime fighting partner of the US in Syria are being viewed as a terror threat by Ankara, a NATO ally of Washington.
The move by the US to take the jihadists into custody along with US' announcement to withdraw troops from Syria, addressed one of the most worrisome issues of Trump's green light to Turkey to invade Syria.
The SDF or the Kurdish fighters have been holding prisoner some 10,000 captured Islamic State group fighters.
The SDF-held fighters include around 2,000 of foreign nationality, many of them from European countries that have refused to take them back.
Trump said the Kurds are still guarding many of the Islamic State group militants, but also said Turkey will be responsible for them.
"If the Kurds don't watch, Turkey will watch. They don't want those people out any more than we do," he said.
