Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

11 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

12 hours ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

1 day ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

1 day ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

1 day ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

1 day ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

2 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

2 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

2 days ago
Security Increased at IS Prisons After Leader's Death
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
October 28, 2019

Share

BEIRUT — Syrian Kurdish forces said Monday they are increasing security at prisons and detention facilities holding tens of thousands of Islamic State militants and supporters, including foreigners, following the death of the extremist group’s leader in a U.S. military raid.
The heightened security also comes as Kurdish forces said they are continuing operations to hunt down IS leaders in Syria. Hours after the raid that killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northwestern Syria, another attack based on Kurdish intelligence killed one of his aides and possible successors, Kurdish forces said.
If confirmed, the death of Abu Hassan al-Muhajir would be another blow to IS. U.S. officials had no immediate comment.
Forces from the Kurdish-led internal security agency were “on high alert” after al-Baghdadi’s death in anticipation of possible riots or attacks on the prisons and camps for displaced people in northeastern Syria where IS members or supporters are located, an official with the agency said.
One of the camps is home to 70,000 people, most of them relatives of the extremists. More than 10,000 prisoners, including 2,000 foreigners, are held in detention facilities in northeastern Syria.
Fear of chaos already was running high over the fate of those detained after this month’s Turkish military invasion of northeastern Syria, which ushered in major troop changes in the area. Turkey moved troops into areas along the border, while Syrian border guards were deployed in others.

al-Baghdadi’s Death Leaves IS Without an Obvious Leader

Kurdish officials had said they needed to divert fighters and logistics to the front line to ward off the Turkish offensive. A shaky cease-fire is in place and an agreement to redeploy Kurdish forces away from the borders.

His death left IS without an obvious leader — a major setback for a terror organization that in March was forced by U.S. and Kurdish forces out of the last portion of its self-declared “caliphate,” which once spanned parts of Iraq and Syria.
Security forces have been able to secure the prisons, according to another official with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.
News of al-Baghdadi’s death had not yet been formally announced to those in the camps on Monday, but many of them have telephones and news has most likely reached them.
President Donald Trump announced al-Baghdadi’s death in a nationally televised address from the White House on Sunday, saying he exploded his suicide vest while being pursued by U.S. troops.
His death left IS without an obvious leader — a major setback for a terror organization that in March was forced by U.S. and Kurdish forces out of the last portion of its self-declared “caliphate,” which once spanned parts of Iraq and Syria.
Later Sunday, Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the Syrian Kurdish-led forces, said his group’s intelligence cooperated with the U.S. military to target al-Muhajir in a village near Jarablus in northwestern Syria. It was part of ongoing operations to hunt down IS leaders, Abdi said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported al-Muhajir’s death, saying he was traveling in a convoy made up of an oil tanker and a sedan. The bodies of those killed were badly burned and it wasn’t immediately clear how al-Muhajir’s identity was confirmed.
Photo of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
FILE – This file image made from video posted on a militant website April 29, 2019, purports to show the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, being interviewed by his group’s Al-Furqan media outlet. The IS erupted from the chaos of Syria and Iraq’s conflicts and swiftly did what no Islamic militant group had done before, conquering a giant stretch of territory and declaring itself a “caliphate.” U.S. officials said late Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019 that al-Baghdadi was the target of an American raid in Syria and may have died in an explosion. (Al-Furqan media via AP, File)

A Milestone in the Fight Against IS

The U.S. raid that killed al-Baghdadi, the shadowy leader of IS who presided over its global jihad and became one of the world’s most-wanted terrorists, took place just before midnight Saturday in Syria’s Idlib province.
It was a milestone in the fight against IS, which brutalized thousands of people in Syria and Iraq and sought to direct a global campaign from a self-declared “caliphate.” A military campaign by U.S. and allied forces led to the recapture of the territory the group held, but its violent ideology has continued to inspire attacks.

“More (IS figures) remain hiding in the area.” Syrian Kurdish forces spokesman Mustafa Bali
Syrian Kurdish forces spokesman Mustafa Bali said his fighters believe al-Muhajir was in Jarablus to facilitate al-Baghdadi’s travel to the area, which is administered by Turkey-backed fighters.
“More (IS figures) remain hiding in the area,” Bali said Sunday.
Little is known about al-Muhajir, who assumed the role of a spokesman after his predecessor was killed in a 2016 airstrike. Al-Muhajir is a nom-de-guerre that indicates he is a foreigner, and he also was believed to be a possible successor to al-Baghdadi.
Trump’s decision to pull back U.S. troops from northeastern Syria raised a storm of bipartisan criticism in Washington, including statements that the move could help IS regain strength after its territorial losses. It also was viewed as an abandonment of the only U.S. ally in Syria, the Kurdish-led forces, who fought IS for years with the U.S-led coalition.
Trump said the troop pullout “had nothing to do with this,” and said Kurdish forces were among the many sides cooperating in the al-Baghdadi operation. Both Iraqi and Kurdish officials claimed a role, and the Turkish military also tweeted that prior to the operation, it exchanged information and coordinated with U.S. military.
[activecampaign form=29]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

DON'T MISS

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

UP NEXT

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

UP NEXT

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

UP NEXT

Markets’ 90-Day Tariff Pause Rollercoaster Nears an Uncertain End

UP NEXT

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

UP NEXT

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

UP NEXT

Colombia President Recalls Ambassador to US

UP NEXT

US-Backed 60-Day Gaza Ceasefire Envisions Gradual Return of Hostages, Official Says

UP NEXT

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

UP NEXT

US Paves Way to Resume Ethane Exports to China Amid Trade Truce

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

11 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

11 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

11 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

11 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

12 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

12 hours ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

12 hours ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

12 hours ago

Markets’ 90-Day Tariff Pause Rollercoaster Nears an Uncertain End

12 hours ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

12 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign a massive package of tax and spending cuts into law at a ceremony at the White House on Friday, ...

10 hours ago

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
10 hours ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 70,801 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, afternoon, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
10 hours ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

11 hours ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
11 hours ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
11 hours ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
11 hours ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Israel Builds a Fence Around the West Bank
11 hours ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

A view of the site of Thursday's Israeli strike that damaged and destroyed residential buildings, at Shati (Beach) refugee camp, in Gaza City, July 4, 2025. (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)
12 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend