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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Finland's President Stubb kicks off 4-day visit to India; trade, innovation top agenda
New Delhi (PTI): Finnish President Alexander Stubb began a four-day visit to India on Wednesday to bolster bilateral cooperation across a wide spectrum of areas, including trade, investment and critical technology.
Stubb will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday following which the two sides are expected to firm up a number of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) to boost cooperation in a number of sectors.
The crisis in West Asia is likely to figure prominently in the meeting.
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"The visit will further strengthen the relations between Finland and India, including in the area of trade," Stubb said before leaving for New Delhi.
The Finnish president will grace as the chief guest at the inaugural session of the Raisina Dialogue on Thursday evening.
Stubb was accorded a warm welcome at the airport by Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh.
"India and Finland share a warm and friendly relationship rooted in shared democratic values. President Stubb's visit will impart further energy to India-Finland relations," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on social media.
The Finnish president is accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising ministers, senior officials and business leaders.
Stubb's visit to India comes weeks after Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo travelled to New Delhi for the AI Impact Summit.
The Finnish president will also meet President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President C P Radhakrishnan.
Stubb will travel to Mumbai on Friday where he is scheduled to meet several business leaders. The Finnish leader will conclude his visit on Saturday.
