Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced Turkey has captured a wife of former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
On November 5, Turkey said it had detained Baghdadi’s sister in Syria.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed himself during a raid by US Special Forces on his compound in north-west Syria last month.
The ISIS’ leader death was hailed as a victory for President Donald Trump, but critics argue that the jihadist group remains a security threat in Syria and elsewhere.
Last week the Islamic State confirmed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death and named a new leader.
Speaking in the Turkish capital Ankara, President Erdogan said he was revealing the capture of Baghdadi’s wife for the first time and also said Turkey was holding Baghdadi’s brother-in-law.
He said: “The United States said Baghdadi killed himself in a tunnel. They started a communication campaign about this.”
“But, I am announcing it here for the first time: we captured his wife and didn’t make a fuss like them. Similarly, we also captured his sister and brother-in-law in Syria.”
On November 5, Turkish officials said the arrest of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s sister Rasmiya Awad would yield valuable intelligence about ISIS.
The arrest was reportedly made on November 4 in an area of Aleppo province now under Turkey’s control.
Rasmiya Awad was found in a trailer, where she was living with her husband, daughter-in-law and five children, a Turkish official told AP news agency, adding she was being interrogated on suspicion of involvement with an extremist group.
Experts say the town where Rasmiya Awad was captured is a known smuggling route for ISIS families.
President Trump announced Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s death at a press conference at the White House on October 27.
The president said DNA tests had been carried out to verify Baghdadi’s identity, confirming his death.
After the raid, the compound was destroyed in an air strike.
Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Qurashi has since been named as ISIS’ new leader and “caliph”.
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