REUTERS
An elite American Special Operations force has captured a significant Islamic State operative in Iraq and is expected to apprehend and interrogate a number of others in coming months, ushering in a new and potentially fraught phase in the fight against the extremist Sunni militant group, according to The New York Times.
Officials said the detainee, whom they declined to identify, was being interrogated by American officials at a temporary detention facility in the city of Erbil in northern Iraq. They said the plan was to eventually turn him over to Iraqi or Kurdish officials, The New York Times wrote.
Several Defense Department officials declined to say how much information or cooperation they have received from the detainee. They said it could take weeks or months to finish questioning the operative.
Captain Jeff A. Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, reiterated Tuesday that there were no plans to detain Islamic State captives long term. "Any detention would be short term and coordinated with Iraqi authorities," he said.