Syria
ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died on October 26, 2019 following a US-led raid in Idlib province, northern Syria.File photo:AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region —Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Wednesday that Turkey has captured one of the wives of slain Islamic State (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northern Syria.
Baghdadi died on October 26 during a raid conducted by US special forces in the Syrian province of Idlib.
US President Donald Trump announced the successful raid in a televised statement the next day. The operation relied in part on intelligence assistance provided by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
"I am announcing for the first time, we captured the wife of Baghdadi as well," state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Erdogan as saying during a speech at Ankara University.
Speaking at a ceremony to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the university's Islamic Studies faculty, Erdogan announced the arrest of Baghdadi's wife but did not reveal the woman's name, age or identity. He also refrained from specifying where and when the arrest took place.
Erdogan's announcement came just one day after Turkish officials had confirmed the arrest of Rasmiya Awad, Baghdadi's older sister.
She was arrested in the Syrian town of Azaz, in an area of Aleppo Province now under Turkish control. Her capture may yield valuable intelligence about the structure and decision-making process of ISIS leadership.
"This kind of thing is an intelligence gold mine," an unnamed Turkish official told AP.
"What she (Awad) knows about IS can significantly expand our understanding of the group and help us catch more bad guys," he added.
ISIS took control of large swathes of Syrian and Iraqi territory in 2014, and the Turkish government has been accused of supporting terrorism in the region.
Fahrettin Altun, President Erdogan's communications director, said the recent raids prove Turkey's "cooperation with like-minded partners" in the fight against terrorism.
"The arrest of al-Baghdadi's sister is yet another example of the success of our counter-terrorism operations," said Altun on Twitter.
"Turkey's fight against terror regardless of its ideology or origin continues unabated," he went on to write.
Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu also stated in televised remarks on Monday that Turkey has captured 287 ISIS militants in Syria since the beginning of October.
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