Turkey has claimed to capture Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s wife and sister, Rasmiya Awad, following his desperate suicide a month ago.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Turkish authorities had said they had arrested al-Baghdadi’s sister, Rasmiya Awad, from north Syria.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi killed himself in a suicide blast following the US Special Operation that surrounded him in his compound.
What Did Turkish PM Say?
During his address at Ankara, the capital of Turkey, President Erdogan said it was the first time he announced the capture of al-Baghdadi’s wife. He further said that Turkey had also detained al-Baghdadi’s brother-in-law.
The US said that al-Baghdadi had committed suicide in a tunnel. They had also launched a “communication campaign” about this act. Erdogan said, pointing toward the details of the operation issued by the US. Erdogan said:
“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.”
Earlier Turkish authorities had said that the arrest of al-Baghdadi’s sister, Rasmiya Awad, 65, would yield useful information about ISIS.
Though President Trump has termed al-Baghdadi’s death a huge success, the critics believe the Islamic State is still potent enough to pose a threat to Syria and other countries.
A Turk official has told RushHourDaily that the arrest of Rasmiya Awad could bring to light many internal matters of the terror group.
However, it is yet to verify the veracity of the Turkish claims that the woman they caught is the sister of the self-proclaimed, now deceased, the caliph.
According to the New York Times, al-Baghdadi has five brothers and several sisters. But it is not clear how many of them are alive.
According to sources, the arrest has taken place near Aleppo, which has been under Turkish control since its attack on Syria last month.
Turkish authorities told AP that Awad was found in a trailer where she was living with her husband and five children. They also said that she was being investigated for her alleged involvement with ISIS.
Authorities believe she could provide what they called the “wealth of information”.
However, experts say it is not clear how useful she could be in providing information about the terror organization. It is also unclear how much time she has spent with al-Baghdadi.
Mike Pregent, the expert from Hudson Institute, says that he thinks that she might not know about the future attacks. But she might know the smuggling routes, and the networks, and the people on whom al-Baghdadi trusted.
It might be of significant use for the US and the allies, to know about the operations of the so-called Islamic State’s networks, and that how he would move his family from places to places.
ISIS Confirms its Leader’s Death, Nominates His Successor!
Earlier, there had been reports that IS had confirmed al-Baghdadi’s death and nominated his successor. Ibrahim al Hashmi al Qureshi has been named as the new “caliph” via the Islamic State’s messaging service Telegram Service.
In a separate message, the ISIS has also confirmed the death of its spokesman Abu al-Hassan al-Muhajir. He was killed in a joint US-Kurd attack on October 27.
Al Muhajir, who was a Saudi citizen, was considered a would-be successor to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The new spokesman Abu Hamza al Qureshi has asked Muslims to take an oath of allegiance to the new “caliph”, Ibrahim al-Hashmi.
Related: https://www.rushhourdaily.com/how-abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-became-worlds-most-wanted-man/
