US turns Islamic State leader over to Iraqi government

The Pentagon says that the U.S. has turned the Islamic State leader captured last month over to the government of Iraq after using information he provided to conduct several airstrikes against the group's chemical weapons production facilities.

Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook says Sulayman Dawud al-Bakkar was transferred to Iraqi control on Thursday. He is also known as Sleiman Daoud al-Afari and was the head of the Islamic State's chemical weapons development units.

U.S. special forces captured him in a raid last month in northern Iraq, according to Iraqi and U.S. officials. The special commando unit was deployed to Iraq to conduct raids and collect intelligence on the ground. The U.S. held him and questioned him for several weeks, but said he would eventually be turned over to the Iraqis.