The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) captured two Americans in Syria who are suspected of being ISIS fighters, the militia said in press release Sunday.

The militia identified the men as Warren Christopher Clark (Abu Mohammad al-Ameriki) and Zaid Abed al-Hamid (Abu Zaid al-Ameriki).

The SDF said Clark is originally from Houston, but it gave no specific location in the United States for the other man’s origin.

The Americans were captured in a group that also contained fighters from Ireland and Pakistan, SDF said.

A Pentagon spokesman said the incident is under investigation.

“We are aware of open source reports of reportedly American citizens currently in custody who were believed to be fighting for ISIS. However, we are unable to confirm this information at this time,” Commander Sean Robertson said.

The White House announced last month that ISIS had been defeated in Syria and the United States would withdraw 2,000 troops from the war-stricken nation.

In October, the US military released another American citizen suspected of being a member of ISIS who was captured in Syria.

The dual US-Saudi national was held by the US military in Iraq without being tried since September 2017. His fate was the subject of a months-long legal battle between the US government and the American Civil Liberties Union.

When he was released, CNN reported that SDF has more than 700 foreign terrorist fighters in custody from some 40 countries.

US officials have encouraged countries to repatriate their citizens in detention in Syria in order to ease the burden on the SDF’s detention facilities. But many countries are reluctant to do so because of the difficulty of prosecuting suspected ISIS members based on evidence collected on the battlefield. </s> Two Americans among foreign militants captured by Syrian Kurds

BEIRUT: The Kurdish-led force battling the remnants of the Islamic State group in eastern Syria said Monday it captured five foreign jihadists, including two US citizens.

The two Americans, two Pakistanis and an Irishman were part of a cell planning an attack on civilians fleeing the jihadist 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 jihadists from their last pocket near the Iraqi border. The force, which receives key support in the air and on the ground from the US military, said in a statement that the jihadists 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 jihadist 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 jihadists held by the Kurds are believed to be small. </s> Two Americans who had joined ISIS in Syria were captured Sunday by U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) near the Hajin pocket, one of the remaining areas under the terror group’s control in Deir ez-Zor governate in eastern Syria. Two Pakistanis and one Irishman were also captured.

Among those being held by the SDF is University of Houston graduate Warren Christoper Clark, who was profiled by NBC News last February.

The operation Jazeera Storm, carried out with the aim of liberating the last regions under the occupation of ISIS, continues steadily towards clearing the last bastions of the group. ISIS, which is now cornered in a small area after being cleared from large swathes of territory it once held, is suffering heavy losses due to operations of our forces. Recently, in order to prevent the advance of our forces, terrorists have attempted to carry out attacks several times. In this context, a group of terrorists who had been preparing to attack the civilians who were trying to get out of the war zone in masses was detected. Following long-term technical and physical follow-up, an operation against the cell was carried out by our forces. As a result of the operation, 5 terrorists originally from the United States, Ireland and Pakistan were captured.



 The 34-year-old Clark and 35-year-old Zaid Abed al-Hamid were identified as the captured Americans. Where al-Hamid is from has not yet been reported. </s> (UPI) — Two U.S. citizens captured in Syria are suspected of fighting for the Islamic State, the Syrian Democratic Forces said.

Warren Christopher Clark and Abed al-Hamid were captured by the U.S.-backed SDF, officials said Sunday. Clark is from the Houston area and once worked as a substitute teacher in the Fort Bend school district in Sugar Land, Texas. Officials said in 2015, he sent a resume and cover letter to the Islamic State seeking a job teaching English in Syria.

“We are aware of open source reports of reportedly American citizens currently in custody who were believed to be fighting for ISIS,” Cmdr. Sean Robertson said. “However, we are unable to confirm this information at this time.”

Warren Clark said his son is “a humanitarian” who “would not be involved in anything along those lines.”

“My son doesn’t have an evil thought in his mind about hurting anyone,” he said.

U.S. officials encourage countries to repatriate citizens caught fighting for the Islamic State to relieve the SDF’s overcrowded detention facilities. Many countries are reluctant to do so because it’s difficult to find hard evidence of their activities on the battlefield.

No origin was listed for al-Hamid, though according to one database he could be from Trinidad. He could also have dual citizenship. In a video posted online, he talks about not being able to practice his Muslim faith in Trinidad.

Clark and al-Hamid were captured with Islamic fighters from Pakistan and Ireland, SDF officials said. If they are extradited to the United States, they would be the 15th and 16th Americans to return from joining the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Clark’s resume seems to indicate he was drawn to the Islamic State by the promise of a Muslim-only state.

President Donald Trump announced last month the Islamic State has been defeated in Syria and U.S. troops will begin a full withdrawal. National Security Adviser John Bolton said the planned withdrawal is contingent upon reaching an agreement with Turkey not to attack Syrian Kurdish forces.

“It’s going to be a different environment after we leave, there is no question about that,” Bolton said. “But there is no desire to see Iran’s influence spread that’s for sure.” </s> Image copyright SDF Image caption Warren Christopher Clark (left) and Zaid Abed al-Hamid

Two American men fighting for the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria have been captured, according to a US-backed Syrian militia alliance.

The Syrian Democratic Forces said on Sunday they had captured Warren Christopher Clark from Houston, Texas, and Zaid Abed al-Hamid during fighting.

According to the alliance, the men were caught planning a terrorist attack on fleeing Syrian civilians.

They were arrested along with suspected fighters from Ireland and Pakistan.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Robertson told US media: "We are aware of open source reports of reportedly American citizens currently in custody who were believed to be fighting for Isis.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Is this the Islamic State group's last stand in Syria?

"However, we are unable to confirm this information at this time."

US officials have previously estimated that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have more than 700 foreign fighters in custody coming from around 40 different nations.

The men were arrested along with two Pakistanis and one Irishman in an operation to clear a region of northern Syria of remaining IS fighters, says the SDF.

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According to Seamus Hughes from George Washington University's Program on Extremism, Mr Clark had submitted a CV and cover letter to IS asking "to get a position teaching English to students in the Islamic State".

According to the New York Times, he graduated from the University of Houston, before moving to Saudi Arabia and Turkey to teach English.

His father, Warren Clark, told the newspaper: "My son would not be involved in anything along those lines."

According to Mr Clark's resume, he taught English as a Second Language as a substitute teacher for the Fort Bend Independent School District between January 2009 and November 2011.

The SDF did not say where in the US Mr Hamid comes from, but according to extremism researchers he may originally be from Trinidad.

Simon Cottee, who is writing a book about Trinidadian IS fighters, told the New York Times that Mr Hamid's name appears on a database of 130 men from the Caribbean island nation who are believed to have joined the group.

In an IS propaganda video from 2015, a man believed to be Mr Hamid talks about his conversion to Islam and his difficulties practising his faith in his homeland.

"Even though I had a very comfortable life in Trinidad, there was something that's telling me, you know, that I don't belong in this place," he says. </s> A 45-year-old Dublin man has been arrested by Syrian Democratic Forces fighting ISIS in Syria.

He was one of five men detained, when patrols targeted a terror cell at Deir ez-Zor, on December 30.

The Kurdish backed Syrian Democratic Forces or SDF say it made the arrests after breaking up a terror ring that was preparing to attack civilians fleeing the war zone in masses.

The US supported militia says it detained five men, including one from Ireland, two from America and two from Pakistan.

The Irish passport holder is a 45-year-old man, who previously lived and worked as a security guard in Dublin.

The raid was carried out at Deir ez-Zor - the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh largest in the country.

The Department of Foreign Affairs says it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the arrests and the identity of the passport holder.

GardaÃ­ say the identity may be that of a naturalised Irish citizen who departed Ireland in 2013 and they are continuing to monitor developments.

The Taoiseach says he is aware of the reports and speaking during his visit to Mali in West Africa, Leo Varadkar said he is being kept informed of the situation.

"I've only heard about that in the last short while. The only information we have is that is that an Irish passport holder, an Irish citizen, has been taken into custody - is being held in Syria," said Mr Varadkar.

"We don't know the details of that so I can't comment on it in any detail.

"But what I will say is any Irish citizen around the world is entitled to consular assistance and we will get that."

In its statement, the SDF said: "The operation Jazeera Storm, carried out with the aim of liberating the last regions under the occupation of ISIS, continues steadily towards clearing the last bastions of the group.

"ISIS, which is now cornered in a small area after being cleared from large swathes of territory it once held, is suffering heavy losses due to operations of our forces.

"Recently, in order to prevent the advance of our forces, terrorists have attempted to carry out attacks several times.

"In this context, a group of terrorists who had been preparing to attack the civilians who were trying to get out of the war zone in masses was detected.

"Following long-term technical and physical follow-up, an operation against the cell was carried out by our forces.

"As a result of the operation, five terrorists originally from the United States, Ireland and Pakistan were captured." </s> Update 11am: The Taoiseach has said that a man captured in Syria by militants fighting Isis is entitled to consular assistance from the state.

Speaking from Mali on Monday, where he is visiting Irish Defence Forces, Leo Varadkar, said: “I’ve only heard about that in the last short while.

“The information we have is that an Irish citizen has been taken into custody in Syria.

“We don’t know the details of that so I can’t comment on it in any detail but what I can say is that any Irish citizen around the world is entitled to consular assistance and will get that.”

A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman said it was looking into the matter but had not received any requests for consular assistance.

It is understood the man is 45 and had lived in Dublin but left the country in 2013.

He is believed to be among five jihadists captured in Syria for fighting for Islamic State.

The US-backed and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces claimed they arrested the militants in the east of the country.

A spokesman for the group said they included two US citizens and two Pakistanis.

“The operation Jazeera Storm, carried out with the aim of liberating the last regions under the occupation of Isis, continues steadily towards clearing the last bastions of the group,” a statement said.

“Recently, in order to prevent the advance of our forces, terrorists have attempted to carry out attacks several times.

“In this context, a group of terrorists who had been preparing to attack the civilians who were trying to get out of the war zone in masses was detected.”

A spokeswoman for the Gardaí said the force was aware of the report.

“The individual may be identical to a naturalised Irish citizen who, it is understood, departed Ireland in 2013.

Update 8.19am: 'Matter for concern' that man captured in Syria obtained Irish citizenship

Security and anti-terrorism expert Declan Power says it is a matter of concern that a man with Irish citizenship captured in Syria had obtained citizenship despite coming to the attention of the Garda Siochana's crime and security branches apparently based on reports from external partner agencies.

“We can't be complacent about the reach of extremism into this State from other locations. It's a wake-up call for us not to be complacent.”

The man, who is 45 years of age and originally from Belarus, is the holder of an Irish passport having lived and worked in this country for a number of years. In 2013, he left with his family to go to the Middle East.

It was reported yesterday that the Irish citizen had been arrested by Syrian Democratic Forces fighting ISIS in Syria.

He was one of five men detained, when patrols targeted a terror cell at Deir ez-Zor, on December 30.

Gardaí said the man was known to them in the context of the monitoring of individuals sympathetic to radical causes.

Mr Power, a defence analyst and former member of the Irish army, told RTE’s Morning Ireland that it's not surprising that foreign fighters are being "shook out of the sack" in the mop-up operations taking place in Syria.

“It behoves us to look a bit more closely at how somebody was able to obtain citizenship if they were under suspicion of activities that would be damaging to this State and our partner States.

“We shouldn't be entirely surprised that an Irish citizen has been found. It's not that long ago since the death of Terence Kelly who was born and raised in Ireland who had gone off to throw in his lot with Islamic State.

"If this individual managed to obtain citizenship and yet seemed to have been engaged in activities outside of the State before he came here, it raises questions that are worth asking because this kind of thing is not going to die off just because Islamic State, one iteration of extremism, is dying out, but extremism isn't dead and gone with the death of Islamic State.

“I have no doubt that the authorities here work very hard and know what is happening in our back yard, they also work very closely with agencies abroad.

"But with regards to checking individuals who haven't come to anyone's attention initially or coming from nation states that have broken down, there's no opposite number that somebody in an Garda Siochana can liaise with regard to that - we should take that into consideration.

"Most people have spent a few years living and contributing to the State before they gain citizenship.”

Mr Power said he was curious about background of this citizen, “people like this usually fit a pattern, I doubt he was radicalised in Ireland, if that's the case, how did he actually end up here?

“I'm sure he was living a blameless life in Ireland, but that's not the point, the point is the activities he was engaged in and the organisations he was attached to, which led to him fighting in Syria.

A 45-year-old Dublin man has been arrested by Syrian Democratic Forces fighting ISIS in Syria.

He was one of five men detained, when patrols targeted a terror cell at Deir ez-Zor, on December 30.

The Kurdish backed Syrian Democratic Forces or SDF say it made the arrests after breaking up a terror ring that was preparing to attack civilians fleeing the war zone in masses.

The US supported militia says it detained five men, including one from Ireland, two from America and two from Pakistan.

The Irish passport holder is a 45-year-old man, who previously lived and worked as a security guard in Dublin.

The raid was carried out at Deir ez-Zor - the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh largest in the country.

The Department of Foreign Affairs says it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the arrests and the identity of the passport holder.

Gardaí say the identity may be that of a naturalised Irish citizen who departed Ireland in 2013 and they are continuing to monitor developments.

The Taoiseach says he is aware of the reports and speaking during his visit to Mali in West Africa, Leo Varadkar said he is being kept informed of the situation.

"I've only heard about that in the last short while. The only information we have is that is that an Irish passport holder, an Irish citizen, has been taken into custody - is being held in Syria," said Mr Varadkar.

"We don't know the details of that so I can't comment on it in any detail.

"But what I will say is any Irish citizen around the world is entitled to consular assistance and we will get that."

In its statement, the SDF said: "The operation Jazeera Storm, carried out with the aim of liberating the last regions under the occupation of ISIS, continues steadily towards clearing the last bastions of the group.

"ISIS, which is now cornered in a small area after being cleared from large swathes of territory it once held, is suffering heavy losses due to operations of our forces.

"Recently, in order to prevent the advance of our forces, terrorists have attempted to carry out attacks several times.

"In this context, a group of terrorists who had been preparing to attack the civilians who were trying to get out of the war zone in masses was detected.

"Following long-term technical and physical follow-up, an operation against the cell was carried out by our forces.

"As a result of the operation, five terrorists originally from the United States, Ireland and Pakistan were captured." </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — What to do with hundreds of foreign Islamic State fighters captured in Syria has become a critical and growing problem for the Trump administration as it prepares to pull troops out of the country.

A senior administration official said Tuesday that resolving the fate of these prisoners is a top priority as the government lays the groundwork with allies to comply with US President Donald Trump’s December 19 order to withdraw the 2,000 American troops from Syria, where they have been working alongside the US-backed Syrian Defense Forces to fight the Islamic State group since 2015.

But there are no easy answers. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said releasing the fighters, among them Europeans and some US citizens, would be “unacceptable” since they could simply rejoin the remnants of Islamic State fighters in Syria or elsewhere.

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“This matters because SDF holds hundreds of IS fighters, including many European citizens, and they might go free if no solution is found,” said Bobby Chesney, a national security law expert at the University of Texas.

European nations have been reluctant to take back citizens with ties to the Islamic State, not wanting the legal challenge of prosecuting them or the potential security risk if they are released.

And moving former fighters to the United States poses some of the same challenges the US has faced with men detained at the military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including whether it’s feasible to prosecute militants captured on the battlefields of northern Syria, according to experts.

“It’s one thing for the government to be very confident that an individual joined or tried to join ISIS. And sometimes it’s still another thing for the government to be able to mount confidently a criminal prosecution against that individual,” said Joshua Geltzer, a senior counterterrorism official under President Barack Obama.

Meanwhile, the prisoner problem is only growing worse.

On Sunday, the Syrian Defense Forces announced the capture of five fighters, including two US citizens, one of whom has been identified as a former school teacher from Houston.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo just began a tour of eight Middle Eastern nations to discuss the withdrawal of the American troops. National security adviser John Bolton returned Tuesday from a meeting in Turkey, where he was seeking a guarantee of safety for the Kurdish fighters who have fought alongside US troops against the Islamic State.

There are fears that the US withdrawal will leave a door open for Turkey to assault the US-allied SDF fighters. Turkey views them as part of a terrorist group linked to an insurgency within its own borders. SDF commanders have warned that they will be unable to hold the 700 prisoners if Turkish forces invade Syria following a US withdrawal.

Administration officials so far do not have a plan for what to do with the prisoners, according to a separate US official, who said that few countries have been willing to accept any of their captured citizens. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to disclose the information publicly.

In a recent case of an American suspected of IS membership, US officials wrestled for more than a year, never charged him and then ultimately released him in Bahrain.

The problem has been further complicated by conflicting reports of Trump’s timeline for recalling the 2,000 US troops from Syria. When he made his surprise announcement of the withdrawal three weeks ago, Trump said he wanted to complete it quickly. His abrupt decision led to the resignations of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Brett McGurk, special presidential envoy for the global coalition to defeat IS.

More recently, Trump and other administration officials have insisted they favor an orderly pullout. The senior administration official said the US will defeat remaining IS fighters on the way out to prevent a resurgence and that the U.S. will oppose any mistreatment of opposition forces, such as the SDF, that fought with the United States against IS.

“These questions are hard enough, if you know the timeline on which you’re making them — if you know what the US involvement will or won’t be over that timeline,” Geltzer said.

One of the foreign fighters recently captured is Warren Christopher Clark, a former substitute schoolteacher from Houston, Texas, who was first identified by George Washington University’s Program on Extremism. Researchers spent months investigating to confirm his identity through multiple sources. The program has identified more than 73 Americans, by their legal names, who are known to have joined jihadist groups.

“Clark is one of several dozen Americans to join the Islamic State out of the around 295 whom intelligence officials claim have traveled or attempted to travel to Syria and Iraq to join the terrorist group,” according to Seamus Hughes, deputy director of the Program on Extremism.

Clark was captured along with four other foreign jihadists — two from Pakistan, one from Ireland and a fourth man, Zaid Abed al-Hamid, who also is believed to be from the United States, although that has not been confirmed.

In a letter to IS that was obtained by the researchers, Clark submitted a resume noting that he had a bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston, had worked as a substitute teacher at the Fort Bend Independent School District in Sugar Land, Texas, and had done teaching stints in Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

“Dear Director, I am looking to get a position teaching English to students in the Islamic State,” he wrote to the group in an accompanying cover letter. “Teaching has given me the opportunity to work with people from diverse cultural backgrounds and learning capabilities.” </s> The Latest: IS suspects in killing of 4 Americans captured

BAGHOUZ, Syria (AP) — The Latest on developments in Syria (all times local):

A spokesman for U.S.-backed forces fighting the Islamic State group in Syria says they have captured a group of suspects involved in a January bombing that killed four Americans in a town in northern Syria.

Mustafa Bali says the suspects were captured following technical surveillance by the group known as the Syrian Democratic Forces. He did not elaborate on the number of suspects or when they were captured.

The Americans were killed in a suicide bombing in January in the town of Manbij that was claimed by IS.

In a statement posted on Twitter on Tuesday, he said the outcome of the ongoing investigation will be shared at a later time.

Bali's statement came few hours after the SDF said it had captured an IS encampment in the eastern village of Baghouz after IS militants surrendered.

A spokesman for U.S.-backed forces fighting the Islamic State group in Syria says his fighters are in control of an encampment in the village of Baghouz where IS militants have been besieged for months.

Mustafa Bali, of the Kurdish-led force known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, says clashes however are continuing elsewhere in the village in eastern Syria as IS militants continue to fight back.

Bali says on Twitter on Tuesday that controlling the encampment in Baghouz marks "significant progress" in the fight but that it's "not a victory announcement."

The area held by IS in Baghouz is the last pocket of territory in Syria controlled by the extremist group, which once held a vast area of Syria and Iraq, calling it an Islamic "caliphate."
The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces say that they captured five foreign nationals who fought for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Two are reportedly from the United States, two from Pakistan and one from Ireland.