American citizen captured in Syria says he wants ACLU lawyer

WASHINGTON (AP) - An American citizen picked up on the Syrian battlefield and held by the U.S. military for nearly four months without a lawyer has told the American Civil Liberties Union that he wants to challenge his detention.

ACLU attorney Jonathan Hafetz said Friday that the civil rights group went to the Pentagon on Wednesday and spoke via videoconference with the detainee, who is accused of fighting with the Islamic State.

The Defense Department provided access after a judge ruled in December that the military must provide legal counsel to the man. He surrendered to U.S.-backed fighters in Syria around Sept. 12 and is being held in Iraq as an unlawful enemy combatant.

The ACLU asked a federal judge on Friday to prohibit the government from transferring the citizen.