ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's Wife And Son Held By Lebanese Military

The Lebanese army on Tuesday claimed that it had detained a wife and son of Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, according to a report by As-Safir, a Lebanese daily. The detention reportedly took place 10 days ago near a border-crossing with Syria, where she was caught “with a false identity, accompanied by one of her sons.”

The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, is believed to be a Syrian national and is one of the reclusive leader’s wives, As-Safir reported, citing officials from the Lebanese security forces. Al Arabiya, a Saudi state-owned news network, reported that the woman is Baghdadi’s second wife.

Unnamed Lebanese army officials, speaking to As-Safir, said that the army had detained her in coordination with “foreign intelligence services,” following which she was taken to the defense ministry headquarters in the city of Yarze for further questioning.

In July, photographs of a woman, identified by local news agencies as Saja Hamid al-Dulaimi, one of al-Baghdadi's wives, had surfaced online. She is believed to be among the 13 women released earlier this year by anti-regime rebels in Syria, according to media reports.

As of now, it is not clear whether the woman detained by the Lebanese military is al-Dulaimi. Baghdadi, who has rarely been seen in public, purportedly has several wives, Al Arabiya reported.