Erdogan says Turkey detains al-Baghdadi’s wife, sister and brother-in-law

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, TASS reports.

"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."