Sister of slain Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi captured in Syria
Turkish officials say they are interrogating Rasmiya Awad for information on Isis operations
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Your support makes all the difference.Turkey has captured the sister of dead Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in northern Syria, officials have claimed.
Rasmiya Awad, 65, was detained along with her husband and daughter-in-law in the town of Azaz, just over the border from Turkey.
“The arrest of Baghdadi’s sister is yet another example of the success of our counter-terrorism operations,” said Fahrettin Altun, communications director for Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
One Turkish official told Reuters that Ms Awad was now being interrogated to gather more information on the militant group’s leadership structure and operations.
“We hope to gather a trove of intelligence from Baghdadi’s sister on the inner workings of Isis,” the official said.
It is unclear what information Ms Awad will be able to provide to Turkish intelligence agencies or what her role was in the organisation.
The capture comes a little over a week after Baghdadi killed himself with a suicide vest after being cornered by US special forces in a village just 50 miles away from Azaz.
Baghdadi had been in hiding for years before he was eventually caught. The fall of the Isis caliphate earlier this year made it harder for him to evade capture, as he was forced to rely on the protection of other armed groups.
US president Donald Trump said Baghdadi “died like a dog” in a statement.
“Baghdadi’s demise demonstrates America’s relentless pursuit of terrorist leaders,” he added.
Isis said a successor to Baghdadi, identified as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi, had been appointed.
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