The source described her as a "powerful figure (who is) heavily
involved in ISIS." Not much is known about the reported wife, including what
her involvement is with the terrorist group, if any.
"We will gain some intelligence from her. We may get insights into
al-Baghdadi's movement, who he surrounds himself with, whether he was injured,
and the degree of his injuries," said Rep. Adam Schiff, a California
Democrat.
Another intelligence source identified the wife as Saja al-Dulaimi. She was
detained with her 4-year-old son more than a week ago when they tried to enter
Lebanon, that source said.
The arrest was a coordinated operation involving agencies from Iraq, Syria
and Lebanon, said the intelligence source. The source said the Iraqis had help
from U.S. intelligence. In Washington, the CIA declined to comment.
Also in Washington, several American sources suggested the person arrested
was al-Baghdadi's ex-wife, not a current one.
Al-Baghdadi has been calling for the release of his son, the intelligence
source said, adding that al-Dulaimi was released from Syrian custody in March
as part of a group of 150 women who were freed in exchange for a group of
Syrian nuns.
The Greek Orthodox nuns had been kidnapped and held captive by the al
Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front, which al-Baghdadi had helped establish.
Lebanese authorities didn't immediately respond to requests for comment
from CNN.
Agence France-Presse, citing unidentified Lebanese security officials,
reported one of al-Baghdadi's sons was detained. But Reuters, also citing
Lebanese officials, said that a daughter, rather than a son, was being held.
The two agencies similarly differed on when the two were picked up by
Lebanese forces: Reuters said it happened "in recent days;" AFP
reported it was 10 days ago.
Regardless, the very idea that a government may be holding close relatives
of al-Baghdadi is significant, given his pivotal role in ISIS' meteoric rise,
the extremist group's widely reviled tactics under his leadership and the
breadth of the international coalition aimed at defeating ISIS.
"It's certainly a new dynamic because we've never seen anybody
connected so close to al-Baghdadi being detained," terrorism expert Sajjan
M. Gohel said.
At the same time, the reports raise a lot of questions, such as what the
family members might have been doing in Lebanon.
"Is he estranged from them? Has he fallen out with them? Were they
escaping from him?" asked Gohel, who is the international security
director at the Asia Pacific Foundation.
Lebanon is one of several countries heavily affected by Syria's yearslong
conflict and the flood of refugees trying to escape the violence.
Lebanese authorities "have been cracking down very heavily on the border
to prevent members of ISIS seeping into Lebanon," Gohel said. "They
don't want the problems spilling over from Iraq and Syria into their
territory."
Another question raised by the reports is whether the wife is affiliated
with ISIS.
"If she's simply an ex-wife, the first thing you got to deal with is
she's an innocent person, potentially, who was married to a bad guy, with a
child," said Philip Mudd, a former CIA counterterrorism official.
"The first hurdle ... before we deal with what she knows, is how
closely was she affiliated, and how hard can you press her based on that
affiliation. That's an ethical question," he said.
ISIS rises after al-Baghdadi took over
The group that in 2006 would become ISIS began in Iraq, where it targeted
the U.S.-led coalition as well as Shiite Muslims in the country.
It suffered heavy losses, but ascended over the past few years to take
advantage of a void wrought by Syria's civil war as well as instability in
Iraq.
Not coincidentally, this all happened after al-Baghdadi took over ISIS in
2010.
Before that, he'd been at a U.S. prison camp for insurgents at Bucca in
southern Iraq, where he was taken after being detained in February 2004 amid
fighting in the flashpoint city of Falluja.
Media reports have claimed U.S. authorities held al-Baghdadi for four
years. But the Pentagon has offered a different time line, saying he was at
Camp Bucca until early December 2004, when officials there recommended his
"unconditional release."
Beyond this, little is known about al-Baghdadi. According to the U.S.
government, he was born in Samarra, Iraq, and is in his early 40s. What
motivates him, how he was trained and who he's close to -- including his family
-- largely remains a mystery.
He has emerged from the shadows in fits and spurts.
Source: CNN
After the death of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011, al-Baghdadi
issued a eulogy in which he threatened violent retribution. (Al Qaeda disowned ISIS earlier this year, blaming it for "the enormity of the disaster
that afflicted" others trying to unseat Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.)
There were unconfirmed suggestions last month that al-Baghdadi had been wounded in airstrikes in northern Iraq.
But days later, an audio recording emerged that purportedly contained a message from al-Baghdadi saying
the U.S.-led coalition to destroy ISIS is "terrified, weak and
powerless."
'He's created this myth'
ISIS itself has never been more powerful, having taken over vast swaths of
territory in Iraq and Syria in the past few years. And it has used brutal
tactics to do so -- such as mass kidnappings, rapes, killings and other abuses
against civilians and fighting foes alike, actions that a U.N. panel characterized as war
crimes and crimes against
humanity.
Al-Baghdadi, who has gone by a variety of aliases during his career in
terrorism, has been at the center of it. The U.S. State Department's Reward's
for Justice program, which refers to him as "Abu Du'a," offers $10
million for information leading to his arrest.
When his group rebranded itself as the Islamic State in June, al-Baghdadi
was tapped as spiritual leader of the new caliphate.
He's sought to burnish his theological credentials, with a biography posted
on jihadist websites last year claiming he had earned a doctorate in Islamic
studies from a university in Baghdad.
"His knowledge in Islamic jurisprudence is somewhat dubious, but
nevertheless he's created this myth and this aura behind him," Gohel said.
SOURCE : CNN
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