Report: Top Islamic State Commander Captured In U.S. Raid

Russian media outlets are reporting that a high-ranking Islamic State commander has been captured after a U.S. special forces raid in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

Late Sunday, initial reports from the Russian state-controlled TASS news agency said Tarkhan Batirashvili, also known as Abu Omar al-Shishani, was apprehended after a joint U.S.-Kurdish raid.

The Pentagon has since denied the accuracy of reports, telling Russian outlet RIA Novosti that they could not confirm al-Shishani’s capture.

However, an Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman confirmed the reports in Sputnik, another Russian outlet, in an interview Monday.

“The US commandos have captured two field commanders and Abu Omar Al-Shishani,” Iraqi Brigadier General Saad Maan told Sputnik, adding the jihadis had been moved to the city of Sulaymaniyah, a city in Iraqi Kurdistan.

A high-value target, the U.S. State Department has offered up to $5 million dollars for information on al-Shishani’s. In 2014, he was named by the U.S. Treasury Department as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

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