Update on U.S. Detention Ops in Erbil

It appears that Iraqi officials have leaked the identity of the ISIS leader recently captured in a raid conducted in Iraq by the Expeditionary Targeting Force (that's the label the Pentagon has used in discussing a mini-SOF surge focused on kill/capture missions targeting key ISIS figures). According to the Post and the Times, the detainee is Sleiman Daoud al-Afari [Update: The Wall Street Journal identified him as Sulayman Dawud al-Bakkar], a man who apparently was involvede in ISIS efforts to develop a chemical weapons capacity. Reportedly he has been providing actionable intelligence on related ISIS facilities in response to interrogation (presumably being conducted either by JSOC alone or perhaps the HIG, in the "temporary detention facility" we seem to have in Erbil), and this has supported a wave of airstrikes. Sounds like a very successful state of affairs, and a big early victory for the Expeditionary Targeting Force concept.

Note that the administration has been clear that we will not hold this or any other ISIS captive in our own custody for long, but instead will look to turn him over, eventually, to Iraqi custody. [Update: The Wall Street Journal reports that the transfer may occur within a week.] It remains to be seen, of course, how well Iraq does in then obtaining convictions backed by serious sentences (or in then applying some other form of detention/incarceration). I've not seen any data, or any real discussion, of what the Iraqis have been doing with the ISIS fighters that they themselves have been capturing (assuming there must be at least some such persons). If anyone knows a reliable source, please pass it along.