Lebanon detains Islamic State leader Baghdadi's wife

[Anthea]

BBC News

Lebanon detains Islamic State leader Baghdadi's wife

Lebanese security forces have detained a wife and son of Islamic State (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi near the border with Syria, the army says.

The pair, whose names were not given, were picked up by military intelligence after entering Lebanon 10 days ago.

The al-Safir newspaper reported that Baghdadi's wife was being questioned at the Lebanese defence ministry.

In June, Baghdadi was named the leader of the "caliphate" created by IS in the parts of Syria and Iraq it controls.

Last month, the group denied reports that he had been killed or injured in an air strike by US-led forces near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

It released an audio recording purportedly of Baghdadi in which he said the caliphate was expanding and called for "volcanoes of jihad" to erupt.

'Secret'

Describing them as "a valuable catch", al-Safir said that, in co-ordination with foreign intelligence services, the IS leader's wife and son were detained at a border crossing while trying to enter Lebanon from Syria with forged papers.

They were currently being held for interrogation at the defence ministry's headquarters in al-Yarza, in the hills overlooking Beirut, it added.

The newspaper said the military had "kept this huge security achievement a secret over the past few days".

The BBC's Jim Muir, who is in the capital, says that assuming it is true - and the army is being discreet on the matter - Baghdadi's wife and son could find themselves ensnared in a complex and delicate situation currently playing out in Lebanon.

IS and another Syria-based jihadist group, the al-Nusra Front, are holding around 20 Lebanese army soldiers hostage.

They are threatening to kill them unless militant prisoners are freed from Lebanese jails.

Lebanese security forces have arrested a number of jihadists suspected of carrying out attacks in the country with the aim of expanding the influence of Islamic State.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-30289946

[Anthea]

The detained woman is Syrian and Baghdadi’s second wife, Al Arabiya TV said.

Given the way in which the Islamic fundamentalists treat their wives - this poor woman may not want to return to his not so loving arms - in fact she was probably trying to escape from him

Does anyone believe that this woman is the power behind the throne - I think not - she is just an innocent woman who probably did not have any choice about who she married

The entire world has seen many times over exactly how much value and respect the Islamic State has towards women - I doubt he will have any interest in the fact that one of his wives has been arrested

Lebanon has detained a wife of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and one of his sons, LBCI TV said.

Arresting and holding the son is an entirely different matter - often wives are easily replaced but a son never - I think this is a VERY BAD move and it will only serve to annoy Baghdadi - right now Baghdadi is the one person in the world that nobody in their right mind should want to annoy

The fighting has given the Islamic State kudos by showing their ability to hold their own against the might of the American Air-force - probably worked wonders for their recruitment drive - losing a son in such a manner would mean losing face especially now that it has become common knowledge - Baghdadi cannot afford to lose face because that might lead to him losing control

To put it mildly - I expect Baghdadi will do something rather unpleasant in the near future