ISIS leader's family detained in Lebanon

The Lebanese army have detained a wife and child of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Islamic State (ISIS), as they crossed from Syria, security officials said yesterday.

The officials declined to reveal the name or nationality of the woman, whom they described as one of his wives.

The Lebanese newspaper As-Safir reported that the army had detained the woman in coordination with “foreign intelligence apparatus”.

The arrest is a blow to Baghdadi and could be used as a bargaining chip against his group.

A senior Lebanese security official said Baghdadi's wife had been travelling with one of their daughters, contradicting earlier reports that it was his son. DNA tests were conducted to verify it was Baghdadi's child, the official said.

Investigators were said to be questioning her at the headquarters of the Lebanese defence ministry.

ISIS has seized swaths of Iraq and Syria, Lebanon's neighbour to the east, declaring a caliphate over the territory it controls.

Lebanon has waged a crackdown on ISIS sympathisers. In recent months, they have arrested several Islamic militants suspected of staging attacks.

There was no immediate reaction from Islamic State websites to the arrest.

A CV of Baghdadi published on social media by ISIS sympathisers in July described him as married but gave no further details.