US Raid Netted 'Treasure Trove' of ISIS Intelligence

Sources say slain militant kept US hostage as slave
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 18, 2015 4:58 AM CDT
Updated May 18, 2015 6:39 AM CDT
US Raid Netted 'Treasure Trove' of ISIS Intelligence
In this May 30, 2013, photo, Kayla Mueller is shown after speaking to a group in Prescott, Ariz.   (AP Photo/The Daily Courier, Jo. L. Keener, File)

The Syria raid that resulted in the death of ISIS commander Abu Sayyaf has yielded some priceless intelligence, lawmakers say, even though Sayyaf ended up dead instead of in custody, the Guardian reports. House Homeland Security committee chief Michael McCaul tells Fox News the Friday raid netted "a treasure trove of electronic information, and documents and records relating to the organizational structure of ISIS." McCaul—who describes Sayyaf as the group's "chief financial officer"—is among several senior lawmakers who describe the intelligence find as more important than the killing of Sayyaf, whose wife was captured in the raid, per the Guardian.

Sources tell ABC News that Sayyaf was suspected of being the ISIS leader who was given American hostage Kayla Mueller as a slave or bride, though the White House says it has no comment on such "speculation." The sources say Sayyaf's wife will be interrogated about Mueller's captivity. Despite the intelligence gained from the raid, the most senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee wonders if it was worth the risk of having an American soldier captured, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports. "You can imagine what would have happened if one of our people were captured," Adam Schiff says. "We'd go to move heaven and earth to get them back, and the risk of escalation becomes that much greater." (ISIS, meanwhile, has seized a key Iraqi city.)

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