The anti-IS coalition led by the United States has said it has arrested a senior terrorist militia leader in an operation in northern Syria.
The alliance announced on Thursday morning that it was an experienced bomb maker and a senior representative of the Syrian branch of the Islamic State.
It did not initially provide any further information on the identity of the man.
The Washington Post reported that US government officials had identified the arrested man as Hani Ahmed al-Kurdi.
He was formerly known as the governor of Raqqa.
Raqqa in northern Syria was once considered the unofficial capital of the area, the area ruled by IS.
In 2014, the extremists overran large regions in Iraq and Syria and proclaimed a self-proclaimed “caliphate” there.
In the meantime they have lost their dominion again.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the military operation was carried out in an area near the city of Aleppo controlled by the Turkish army and allied Syrian militias.
According to the anti-IS coalition, neither civilians nor their own soldiers were injured.
In October 2019, IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a mission by American special forces in Syria.
According to American sources, he detonated an explosive vest to avoid arrest.
His successor, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Kurashi, also died last February during an American mission in northern Syria.
According to American sources, he blew up himself and his family.