BEIRUT
Lebanese army has arrested one of the wives of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militant group's leader and one of his sons on the border with Syria, Lebanon's private daily Assafir reported on Tuesday.
The newspaper said it has learned that Lebanese forces had coordinated with local and foreign intelligence apparatuses to arrest the wife and son of the ISIL leader – known as Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi – at a border crossing with Syria.
A Lebanese security source confirmed the report to The Anadolu Agency saying that a Syrian wife of al-Baghdadi and their 10-year-old son are held by the Lebanese security agencies.
The source told AA that the woman has been interrogated since her arrest several days ago. Yet, he stopped short from saying whether she faces any charges.
According to the report, the apprehended woman held fake identification papers at the time of her arrest along with her son.
The newspaper said the arrest was carried out several days ago and that the woman and her son are held in custody in the Defense Ministry headquarters in Beirut for investigation.
Asked whether the government intends to use the woman as a bargaining chip to pressure ISIL to free the Lebanese troops it holds hostage since August, the source told AA that it is "up to the government to decide."
The Lebanese army has recently reinforced its forces on the border with Syria following deadly clashes with militants this summer in Lebanese Arsal town, in which several soldiers were killed and injured. Several soldiers have also been captured by the militants.
Over the past several weeks, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militant group has announced the execution of two of the ten Lebanese troops it is holding. The Nusra Front, meanwhile, has announced the execution of one of the 18 Lebanese troops it had captured.
The two militant groups demand the withdrawal from Syria of fighters from Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah group who for the past two years have been openly fighting alongside Syrian regime forces.
www.aa.com.tr/en
