McCain wants to know why ISIS suspect was transferred to Iraqi custody

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) is asking the administration to explain why it transferred to Iraq a suspected member of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) instead of bringing her to the U.S. for prosecution. 

U.S. forces in Syria captured the suspect, Nasrin As’ad Ibrahim, also known as Umm Sayyaf, on May 15 during an operation that targeted her husband, Abu Sayyaf, a senior ISIS leader.

In an Aug. 13 letter to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Attorney General Loretta Lynch, McCain requested a detailed explanation in writing as to why Umm Sayyaf was not extradited to the U.S. to stand trial. 

{mosads}”Umm Sayyaf was clearly involved at the top levels of a foreign terrorist organization with which the United States is in a state of hostilities,” he wrote.  

“In particular, I would like to know whether representatives of the Department of Justice recommended bringing charges against Umm Sayyaf in the United States prior to her release to Iraqi custody,” he wrote.

Umm Sayyaf is believed to be complicit in the kidnapping of American aid worker and Arizona resident Kayla Mueller, who was held by ISIS until her death earlier this year. 

The Pentagon announced last Friday that Sayyaf, a “suspected member” of ISIS, was transferred to the custody of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government’s Ministry of Interior.

Her transfer was “appropriate with respect to legal, diplomatic, intelligence, security, and law enforcement considerations,” and consistent with Pentagon “policy to detain, interrogate, and, where appropriate, seek the prosecution of individuals who are captured on the battlefield,” the Pentagon said. 

Umm Sayyaf is the first U.S.-captured prisoner in the fight against ISIS, prompting the question of where she would be held permanently, with the Obama administration seeking to close the Guantánamo Bay detention facility.

U.S. authorities had been preparing charges against her for possible prosecution in the U.S., but Baghdad opposed that, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported Umm Sayyaf’s transfer. 

National Security Council Spokesman Alistair Baskey told Defense One that the White House had a “firm belief that she will be held to account for her crimes, though we cannot guarantee any particular result.” 

McCain said he wanted to know “what commitments, if any, the Kurdistan Regional Government or the Government of Iraq have provided to ensure that Umm Sayyaf is held responsible for her actions.

“I look forward to your timely response on this important matter,” he added.  

— Updated 9:00 a.m.