May 17, 2015

VOA News: Interview with Yan St-Pierre on Death of IS Commander Abu Sayyaf

May 16, 2015

Voice of America

Heather Murdock from Voice of America asked Yan St-Pierre for his analysis of the effects of Abu Sayaf’s death on IS.

“Any time you hit an organization’s money guys or logistics people, it is a blow,” St-Pierre said. “But an organization like ISIS, it’s not just one person, like with smaller groups.  They usually have contingency plans.  There’s always some one ready or willing to take over if something happens. So it is a blow, but not that large of a blow.”

In a later article that day titled “US Special Forces Kill IS Commander in Syria”, Yan St-Pierre is quoted saying:

“Usually, these announcements don’t come within a few hours of the kill being executed. Rather, maybe a day later. They want to confirm that the target was indeed killed,” St-Pierre told VOA. ” … But over the past 24 hours, past 48 hours, with ISIS making so much progress, it probably added to the pressure of having to act quicker than they wanted.”

The Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo also referred to this article.

To read each article, please click on the respective link provided above.