WASHINGTON
A recently slain senior Daesh commander was “central” to the group’s financing, the State Department said Monday.
Abu Sayyaf was killed by Special Forces troops during a U.S. raid in eastern Syria’s al-Amr overnight Friday. His wife, Umm Sayyaf, and a second woman, whom U.S. officials say was a Yezidi slave, were taken into custody.
State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke told reporters that Abu Sayyaf had a “senior role” in Daesh’s oil and gas operations, which are reportedly the single largest source of the group’s revenue.
“He was central to ISIS financing. And that is the focus”, Rathke said using another acronym for Daesh. He added that Abu Sayyaf was also involved in Daesh’s military operations.
Umm Sayyaf is suspected to be a Daesh member who “played an important role in their terrorist activities”, Rathke said. She is currently being interrogated “to obtain intelligence about ISIL operations” at an undisclosed location, he added.
Abu Sayyaf and Umm Sayyaf are noms de guerre, and their real names are currently unknown.
Eight Daesh members, including two senior figures, were killed in the operation that lasted approximately 20 minutes, according to Syria’s Local Coordination Committees.
The Syrian government was not informed of the raid before or after it took place, Rathke said.
