US Special Forces Capture ISIS Suspect in Northern Iraq

First Detention Comes Weeks After Deployment of 'Targeting Force'

US special forces who are part of the “expeditionary targeting force” have captured their first suspected ISIS member, according to unnamed US officials. The unnamed suspect is being held at an undisclosed location for “interrogation.”

Officials say the Delta Force operations have been ongoing for several weeks, but interestingly this first detention comes just 24 hours after the first report by the Pentagon that the operation was ongoing, with Defense Secretary Ash Carter confirming that the troops were “in place.”

The timing must inevitably raise questions about whether this detention is a major “get” or simply a desperate grab at a random suspect for the sake of selling yesterday’s admission as having led to something meaningful.

The “expeditionary targeting force” was meant to be deployed to “capture or kill” ISIS members, and while this is the first apparent detention of weeks of operations, it is unclear as of yet if the troops have killed anybody in Iraq.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.