Turkey says it captured sister of dead IS leader
Istanbul: Turkish forces in northern Syria have detained a sister of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State group who was killed in a US raid, a senior Turkish official said Tuesday.
"Turkey has captured Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's sister" in a raid near the town of Azaz, the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP.
He named the woman as Rasmiya Awad, and said she was born in 1954. The woman was accompanied by her husband, her daughter-in-law and five children. "The three adults are being interrogated at this time", the official said. He added that the arrest could be "an intelligence gold mine.
"What she knows about ISIS can significantly expand our understanding of the group", help us catch more members and "help Turkey to better protect itself and the rest of Europe from terrorists", he said, using another acronym for IS.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed the arrests.
"Turkish forces arrested the sister of Baghdadi last night in a camp in the suburbs of the city of Azaz", said the head of the organisation, Rami Abdel Rahman.
"They arrested her, her husband, her daughter-in law, and her five grandchildren." He said they also detained four other Iraqis, but it was not immediately clear if they were linked to IS or not.
The town of Azaz is located in a region of northwestern Syria that has been under Turkish control since an offensive that it staged in 2016.
US President Donald Trump announced on October 27 the death of Baghdadi in a US special forces raid in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib, carried out in coordination with Kurdish militants.
Baghdadi had led IS since 2014 and was the world's most wanted man.
The next day Turkey said that its intelligence services and military had had "intense" contact with their US counterparts on the night of the operation.
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Second anniversary of Ram temple's consecration to be celebrated on Dec 31, says trust
Ayodhya (PTI): The second anniversary of the consecration of the Ram temple will be celebrated on December 31, with flag hoisting ceremonies planned on the spires of seven sub-temples in the temple complex, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust said on Friday.
According to the Trust, this year's anniversary will be marked as "Pratishtha Dwadashi". A meeting scheduled for Saturday will finalise the framework for the celebration.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath are likely to attend the December 31 ceremony as chief guests, the Trust officials said.
Both leaders may jointly hoist the flags on the spires of all seven sub-temples, they added.
Trust sources said that during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit on November 25, when he hoisted the flag on the main spire of the temple, plans were also in place to hoist flags on the spires of Shiva, Surya, Ganpati, Hanumana, Bhagwati, Annapurna and Sheshavatara temples.
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"The plan was postponed due to unavoidable reasons," a source said, adding that finishing work on the temples was pending at that time.
"All seven temples have now been fully completed, including decoration work. Preparations are underway to hoist the flags during the 'Pratishtha Dwadashi' celebration," the source added.
Rituals for the celebration will begin on December 27, including the worship of the flags to be hoisted. The designs for these flags have already been finalised.
Trustee Anil Mishra said that the quarterly meeting of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will be held on Saturday, during which Ram Mandir Construction Committee Chairman Nripendra Mishra will review the progress of ongoing construction works in the complex.
