Syria Kurds Announce Capture Of Prominent French Jihadist

Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria on Thursday announced the capture of French jihadist Adrien Guihal, known as the voice that claimed 2016 attacks in France for the Islamic State group

Qamishli, Syria, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 24th May, 2018 ) :Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria on Thursday announced the capture of French jihadist Adrien Guihal, known as the voice that claimed 2016 attacks in France for the Islamic State group.

"The SDF's intelligence services conducted an operation on May 19 that led to the capture of a group of IS jihadists led by Adrien Guihal, known as Abu Osama al-Faransi," the Syrian Democratic Forces said in a statement.

Guihal was thought to be among the most dangerous members of the large French contingent in the ranks of the Islamic State group, whose self-styled "caliphate" spanned huge swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria before collapsing last year.

The Kurdish forces controlling northeastern Syria have detained dozens of French IS members who have gone underground in recent months, including well-known figures such as Thomas Barnouin and Emilie Konig.

The SDF statement said Guihal was detained together with his wife, who was not identified, in the area of Raqa, IS's former Syrian "capital" which the US-backed SDF took last year. He made headlines when he was recognised as the man behind the voice that claimed responsibility for the July 2016 attack that killed 86 people in the French city of Nice.

He is a veteran member of France's jihadist networks however.