Pakistanis, Americans among foreign militants captured in Syria: SDF

Published January 7, 2019
A file photo of Syrian pro-government forces fighting the Syrian war against the militant IS.
A file photo of Syrian pro-government forces fighting the Syrian war against the militant IS.

The Kurdish-led force battling the remnants of the militant Islamic State group in eastern Syria said on Monday it captured five foreign fighters, including two US and as many Pakistani citizens.

The two Americans, two Pakistanis and an Irishman were part of a cell planning an attack on civilians fleeing the militant group's last bastion, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said.

The SDF has spearheaded the battle against IS in eastern Syria and is close to flushing out the militants from their last pocket near the Iraqi border.

Read: An overview of US involvement in Syria's civil war over the years

The force, which receives key support in the air and on the ground from the US military, said in a statement that the militants were captured on December 30.

The SDF said its forces detected “a group of terrorists who had been preparing to attack the civilians who were trying to get out of the war zone”.

“An operation against the cell was carried out by our forces,” it said.

It published mugshots of the five foreign fighters and provided the following names: - Warren Christopher Clark, USA - Alexandr Ruzmatovich Bekmirzaev, Ireland - Zaid Abed al-Hamid, USA - Fadel al-Rahman, Pakistan - Abed al-Azem Rajhoud, Pakistan.

The Kurds in northeastern Syria say they hold around 1,000 foreign fighters, as well as 550 foreign women and 1,200 children who lived with them.

They are from dozens of different nationalities and include a significant contingent from France, the main US partner in the coalition assisting Kurdish forces.

The numbers of US militants held by the Kurds are believed to be small.

The fate of these foreign fighters and their families is a complex and sensitive issue.

Many countries are reluctant to bring them back home while Syria's Kurds argue they do not have the capacity to keep them locked up much longer.

The SDF, backed by coalition air strikes, has achieved major gains since the launch four months ago of an offensive to root out IS from the last rump of the once-sprawling “caliphate” it proclaimed in 2014.

The militants are clinging to a handful of villages in the Euphrates River Valley.

The largest ones are Sousa and Bahgouz, following the capture on Saturday of Al-Shaafa, according to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights war monitor.

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.