Who Is Saja Abdul al-Dulaimi? Confusion Prevails Over Identity Of Woman Detained By Lebanese Military

Iraqi officials on Wednesday said that Saja Abdul Hamid al-Dulaimi, the woman believed to be detained by the Lebanese military, is not one of Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s wives.

In a statement released by the Iraqi interior ministry, a government spokesperson said that the woman who was reportedly detained by Lebanese security forces about 10 days ago, is the sister of Omar Abdul Hamid al-Dulaimi -- an Iraqi national who has been sentenced to death on a number of terror related charges.

“The wives of the terrorist al-Baghdadi are Asmaa Fawzi Mohammed al-Dulaimi and Esraa Rajab Mahel al-Qaisi,” the Iraqi government spokesperson said, in the statement. “There is no wife named of Saja al-Dulaimi.”

The statement contradicted earlier media reports, which suggested that the woman was possibly one of al-Baghdadi’s wives or one of his ex-wives.

Meanwhile, CNN contested the Iraqi government’s statement on Wednesday, citing “regional sources” to report that the woman is in fact one of his two wives. The report also claimed that al-Dulaimi is a “powerful figure” within the Islamic State group and is “very active” within the organization. Some other reports claim al-Baghdadi has three wives.