BEIRUT – Lebanese authorities have detained a wife and son of the leader of the Islamic State group, and she is being questioned, two senior Lebanese officials said Tuesday.
A military official said the woman and her son were detained about 10 days ago while carrying fake identification cards.
Both officials refused to give further details about the woman who is believed to be one of the wives of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the group’s reclusive leader. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
The military official said the woman is a Syrian citizen and is being questioned by authorities. The officials refused to give details about the son.
The Lebanese daily As-Safir was the first to break the news, saying they were detained near a border crossing point with Syria. It added that the arrest was in “co-ordination with foreign intelligence agencies.”
Very little is known about al-Baghdadi’s personal life, including how many wives and children he has. Conservative interpretations of Islam allow for a man to marry up to four wives.
Al-Baghdadi’s first wife is believed to be Iraqi citizen Suja al-Dulaimi, who was reportedly held by Syrian authorities and freed in a prisoner exchange with al-Qaida’s branch in Syria earlier this year. In March, the Nusra Front freed more than a dozen Greek Orthodox nuns, ending their four-month captivity in exchange for Syrian authorities releasing dozens of female prisoners.
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