Turkish authorities have detained 25 relatives of the slain leader of the Daesh terrorist group Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, general prosecutor's office of Turkey said on Saturday, Trend reports citing Sputnik.
"Al-Baghdadi’s relatives were detained in four provinces as part of an investigation into the IS’ activities. A total of 25 people were detained: 11 in the province of Kirsehir, five in Samsun, three in the Ordu and six in Sanliurfa. Four of the detainees were arrested by the court accused of participating in an armed terrorist organization", the prosecutor's office said in a statement.
The report comes nearly two weeks after Turkish-backed militia in Syria announced they had caught Al-Baghdadi’s sister, Rasmiya Awad, and handed her over to Turkey. 21 members of the family, including children, were sent to repatriation centres where Turkish authorities prepare refugees to be returned to their country of origin.
US President Donald Trump said on 27 October that al-Baghdadi had been killed in a US operation in Syria's Idlib. Later that day, the Russian Defence Ministry's spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, said that Russia did not have reliable information that the US military had actually killed al-Baghdadi.
Baghdadi blew himself up along with two children when he was cornered by the US military in his hideout in northern Syria, according to US officials.
The terror leader’s immediate likely successor, Abu Hassan al-Muhajir, was killed in a US airstrike a day later, according to US officials.
The Daesh terrorist group reportedly confirmed the death of its leader on 31 October.