The Slatest

Wife of ISIS Leader al-Baghdadi Reportedly Arrested in Lebanon

From a video that is believed to depict al-Baghdadi at a mosque in Mosul, Iraq, in his only known public appearance.

Reuters

Lebanese authorities have arrested one of secretive ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s wives, reports indicate. From Reuters:

The Lebanese army detained a wife and daughter of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as they crossed from Syria nine days ago, security officials said on Tuesday…

The woman was identified as Saja al-Dulaimi, an Iraqi, by a Lebanese security official and a senior political source.

Al-Dulaimi’s arrest will be used as leverage to negotiate the release of 27 members of Lebanese security forces who are being held by ISIS, Reuters says. Her capture was achieved with the assistance of “foreign intelligence.”

Al-Baghdadi is a mysterious figure; he’s thought to be around 43 years old, to have been born in Iraq, and to have been held in U.S. custody in that country for a period of somewhere between eight months and four years. Reports differ as to whether he has two or three wives.

ISIS has declared al-Baghdadi the ruler of all Muslims everywhere.