US reveals real name of ISIS leader killed in raid

A U.S. official on Tuesday revealed the real name of a senior leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) who was killed over the weekend in a raid.

The top commander was previously known publicly only by his nom de guerre, Abu Sayyaf.

“While he had a number of aliases, we believe his real name to have been Fathi Ben Awn Ben Jildi Murad al-Tunisi,” a U.S. official told CNN on condition of anonymity.

{mosads}U.S. special forces conducted a raid into northern Syria over the weekend to capture the leader, who allegedly played a central role in ISIS’s oil and gas operations, which the group uses to finance itself.

They also captured his wife, referred to as Umm Sayyaf, and freed a Yazidi woman who was enslaved by the couple. 

U.S. officials said Tuesday they are interrogating Umm Sayyaf for intelligence on ISIS hostages. She is reportedly being held in Iraq. 

“What I’ll confirm is that we are interested in what the Sayyafs know about ISIL’s hostage operations,” said Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren, using an alternate name for the terror group.

Warren said officials are trying to determine whether Umm Sayyaf ran or played a part in ISIS’s efforts to capture hostages. A number of Western hostages have been killed by the group, including four Americans. Two rescue operations were attempted in Syria, but were unsuccessful. 

“That is one of things we’re trying to determine through the debriefing of Umm,” he said. “We will conduct this debriefing as long as is needed.” 

The Obama administration also contacted the families of U.S. hostages who were killed by ISIS to inform them about the raid on Abu Sayyaf, according to an ABC News report and confirmed by a U.S. official.