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, in a move seen as likely to put pressure on
the Islamist chief.
The woman was identified as Saja al-Dulaimi, an Iraqi, by a
Lebanese security official and a senior political source.
The Lebanese newspaper As-Safir reported she had been
detained in coordination with "foreign intelligence".
A Lebanese security source said the arrest was “a powerful
card to apply pressure” in negotiations to secure the release of 27 members of
the Lebanese security forces captured by Islamic militants - a view shared by
other Lebanese officials who confirmed the arrest.
However, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry dismissed any
suggestion that Washington might also try to use similar tactics to free
prisoners. "We do not engage in that type of negotiation. Period," he
told a news conference in Brussels.
A senior Lebanese security official said Baghdadi's wife had
been traveling with one of their daughters, contradicting earlier reports that
it was his son. DNA tests were conducted to verify it was Baghdadi's child, the
official said.
They were detained in northern Lebanon after Baghdadi's wife
was found with a fake passport, officials said. Investigators were questioning
her at the Lebanese defense ministry.
There was no immediate reaction from Islamic State websites,
although some supporters rejected the report.
Baghdadi has three wives, two Iraqis and one Syrian,
according to tribal sources in Iraq.
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