MOSCOW, November 6. /TASS/. Turkish forces have detained the wife, sister and brother-in-law of the deceased leader of the Islamic State (IS, outlawed in Russia) terrorist group Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated on Wednesday in a speech transmitted by the NTV channel.
"We have captured his wife, sister and brother-in-law. I am saying this today for the first time. We captured them on the Syrian territory," Erdogan said. He noted that the US "has begun a large media campaign in its favor after al-Baghdadi blew himself up in a tunnel," while Turkey "didn’t make a fuss" about the capture of his wife.
The Turkish leader stressed that his country "will continue to counter terrorism in a resolute manner," adding that the current counterterrorism efforts of the republic "are more effective than ever."
On Tuesday, Erdogan informed that al-Baghdadi’s sister had been captured. She is currently kept at a Turkish immigration center, awaiting a court verdict.
On October 27, US President Donald Trump said that al-Baghdadi had been killed during a special operation in Syria’s Idlib Governorate. He thanked Russia, Iraq, Syria and Turkey for their assistance. Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry denied having reliable information on al-Baghdadi’s death. The international community called the killing of al-Baghdadi an important but not a decisive step, appealing for continuing the war on terror.