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Terrorism

Al-Baghdadi sister arrested in northern Syria

By AFP

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's sister Rasmiya Awad was captured by Turkish forces in northern Syria. [Screenshot from video released by the Turkish government]

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's sister Rasmiya Awad was captured by Turkish forces in northern Syria. [Screenshot from video released by the Turkish government]

Turkish forces in northern Syria have detained a sister of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) who was killed in a US raid last month, a senior Turkish official said Tuesday (November 5th).

"Turkey has captured Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's sister" in a raid near the town of Azaz, the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP.

He named the woman as Rasmiya Awad, and said she was born in 1954.

The woman was accompanied by her husband, her daughter-in-law and five children.

"The three adults are being interrogated at this time", the official said.

He added that the arrest could be "an intelligence gold mine".

"What she knows about ISIS can significantly expand our understanding of the group, help us catch more members and help Turkey to better protect itself and the rest of Europe from terrorists," he said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the arrests.

"Turkish forces arrested the sister of al-Baghdadi last night in a camp in the suburbs of the city of Azaz," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.

He said they also detained four other Iraqis, but it was not immediately clear if they were linked to ISIS or not.

The town of Azaz is located in a region of north-western Syria that has been under Turkish control since 2016.

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