Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that Turkish forces have captured a wife of former Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was killed during a U.S. special forces raid in Syria, VOA news reports.
In a nationally televised address from Ankara, Erdogan said, “we captured his wife and didn’t make a fuss like them (the U.S.) Similarly, we also captured his sister and didn’t make a fuss like them.”
Erdogan said the U.S. “launched a gigantic communication campaign” about its late October military raid during which the leader of IS, Baghdadi, was killed.
The Turkish leader did not disclose details about how Baghdadi’s wife was apprehended.
On Tuesday, Turkish officials announced the capture of the older sister of the slain IS leader in northwestern Syria.
They also announced the capture of Baghdadi’s sister, her husband and daughter.
A senior official said that Baghdadi’s sister, Rasmiya Awad, 65, was found during a raid on November 4 near the Turkish-controlled town of Azaz, in Aleppo Province.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Awad was found in a trailer where she was living with her husband, daughter-in-law, and five children.
Awad could be an intelligence “gold mine,” the official said.
Little is known about Baghdadi’s sister.
Following Baghdadi’s death last month, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi was named the new leader of the extremist group.
Baghdadi, who had led the IS group since 2014, blew himself up on October 26 during a U.S. Special Forces raid in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib. President Donald Trump announced Baghdadi’s death from the White House.
Despite losing control over much of Syria and Iraq from a U.S.-led military operation over the past several years, IS still remains a security threat.