Ankara received "a lot of information" about the "inner workings" of the Daesh* terrorist group from the "first wife" of the group's late leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, AFP reported, citing an anonymous Turkish official. According to the source, the wife, whose real name is Asma Fawzi Muhammad Al-Qubaysi, was captured around a year ago in the province of Hatay, near the Syrian border.
"We discovered [her] real identity pretty quickly. At that point, she volunteered a lot of information about Baghdadi and [Daesh]. We were able to confirm a lot of things that we already knew. We also obtained new information that led to a series of arrests elsewhere", the source told AFP.
Along with al-Baghdadi's wife, Turkey reportedly captured the former Daesh* leader's daughter, who identified herself as Leila Jabeer.
Capture of Late al-Baghdadi's Relatives
Following the demise of al-Baghdadi, who was killed as a result of a raid conducted by US forces at the end of October, Turkey announced capturing some of his relatives, namely his older sister, 65-year-old Rasmiya Awad, as well as her husband, daughter-in-law, and five children in the Syrian town of Azaz, north of Aleppo. Awad reportedly also provided Ankara with intelligence on Daesh's* inner workings.
On 7 October, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed that the total number of people close to al-Baghdadi captured by Turkey had risen to 13. He also confirmed that al-Baghdadi's wife was arrested 1-1.5 years ago, but that Turkey had opted not to "make a big fuss about it".
US President Donald Trump announced that Daesh* leader al-Baghdadi was slain on 27 October, adding that he killed himself after detonating a suicide vest. POTUS claimed that due to his body being mutilated by the blast, he was identified via a DNA test on the spot. His remains were buried at sea within 24 hours of his death and his raided hideout was levelled by an airstrike.
Daesh* later confirmed the death of al-Baghdadi and named Abi Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Qurashi as their new leader.
*Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL/IS) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia
