BEIRUT, Lebanon — The Lebanese authorities have detained a woman and child believed to be the wife and son of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the extremist group the Islamic State, near the border with Syria, two security officials said on Tuesday.
The pair were arrested more than a week ago, the officials said.
The officials did not provide the woman’s name or nationality or give the boy’s age. An army official said that the woman was still being questioned and that it remained unclear how much information she had on the operations of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
“We still don’t know how valuable she is,†the army official said. Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.
Although the Islamic State has drawn international attention for seizing territory in Syria and Iraq and distributing brutal videos of its fighters beheading hostages, little is known about the private life of its leader. He declared himself to be caliph, or leader of the world’s Muslims, during a sermon in the Iraqi city of Mosul in July.
Related Coverage
-
Baghdadi of ISIS Pushes an Islamist CrusadeAUG. 10, 2014
-
graphic
How ISIS WorksSEPT. 16, 2014
-
video
ISIS’ Goals and Tactics WorldwideSEPT. 10, 2014
While many leaders of jihadist groups have several wives, the Islamic State has not stated Mr. Baghdadi’s marital status.
The Islamic State did not immediately respond to the reports, and some of its supporters took to social media to declare them false.
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1rU1mZ0
0 comments:
Post a Comment