Erdogan Announces Capture of Baghdadi Wife, With Trump Dig

Turkey's president appears to reference Trump's post-raid address
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 6, 2019 10:05 AM CST
Baghdadi's Wife Is Seized, but Don't Expect a 'Fuss'
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks in Ankara, Turkey, on Wednesday.   (Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool)

Turkey is heralding another victory against the Islamic State: the capture of one of former ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's wives. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the announcement Wednesday during a speech at Ankara University, adding an apparent dig at President Trump's post-raid address to the nation. Following the Oct. 26 raid in which Baghdadi died, "the US … initiated a serious communication campaign," Erdogan said, per the New York Times. "We, too, have captured Baghdadi's wife. But we did not make a fuss about it. I am announcing it here for the first time."

Erdogan didn't identify the woman or give details of her capture. But he did confirm the capture of Baghdadi's sister and brother-in-law by Turkish forces in Syria, which had been reported in recent days. Baghdadi is believed to have had four wives, "the maximum number one can have under Islamic law" at the same time, per Al Jazeera. Trump previously said two wives died in the raid on Baghdadi's compound in Idlib, per CNN. Three women in total died, per the Times. (More Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi stories.)

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