Turkey claims it captured slain ISIS leader’s sister in Syria
November 5, 2019, 11:11 am

Turkey claims it captured slain ISIS leader’s sister in Syria

Turkish-backed Syrian militants stand guard at a checkpoint in the Syrian town of Azaz on a road leading to Afrin, on February 1, 2018. (File photo AFP)

Turkey captured the elder sister of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the slain leader of ISIS in northwestern Syria on Monday, according to claims by a senior Turkish official, who called the arrest an intelligence “gold mine.”

Little is known about the sister of al-Baghdadi.

The Turkish official said that the 65-year-old known as Rasmiya Awad is suspected of being affiliated with the extremist group. He did not elaborate.

Awad was captured in a raid on Monday evening on a trailer container she was living in with her family near the town of Azaz in Aleppo province.

The area is part of the region administered by Turkey after it carried out a military operation to chase away ISIS militants and Kurdish fighters starting 2016. Allied Syrian groups manage the area known as the Euphrates Shield zone.

The official said the sister was with her husband, daughter-in-law and five children.

The adults are being interrogated, he said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government protocol.

“This kind of thing is an intelligence gold mine. What she knows about (ISIS) can significantly expand our understanding of the group and help us catch more bad guys,” the official said.

Al-Baghdadi, an Iraqi from Samarra, was killed in a US raid in the nearby province of Idlib last month. The raid was a major blow to the group, which has lost territories it held in Syria and Iraq in a series of military defeats by the US-led coalition and Syrian and Iraqi allies.

Many ISIS members have escaped through smuggling routes to northwestern Syria in the final days of battle ahead of the group’s territorial defeat earlier this year, while others have melted into the desert in Syria or Iraq.

The reclusive leader al-Baghdadi was known to be close to one of his brothers, known by his nom de guerre Abu Hamza.

Al-Baghdadi’s aide was killed hours after the raid, also in northwestern Syria, in a US strike. The group named a successor to al-Baghdadi days later, but little is known about him or how the group’s structure has been affected by the successive blows.

source:The Associated Press

Magnitude 6.0 quake hits in central Chile, no damages reported Internet access cut off in much of Iraq: Reports

BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”