Thursday, July 17, 2014

Is This the Wife of Iraq's New Islamist Overlord?

Image from a video of a woman believed to be Saja al-Dulaimi,
the wife of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: First pictures emerge of Saja Hamid al-Dulaimi, said to be the spouse of Islamic State ruler Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

He is the world's most feared Islamic terrorist, carving out a new Middle East 'caliphate' through a combination of medieval butchery and stunning military success.

But until now, the wife of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of the Islamic State, has remained largely out of the public eye.

A photo has now emerged online purporting to show Saja Hamid al-Dulaimi – the woman whose husband now controls vast swathes of Syria and western Iraq after his forces routed government troops in a lightening eastern advance over recent weeks.

Although the provenance of the picture is unclear, it shows a youthful-looking woman draped in a black headscarf and gazing purposefully into the distance. » | Alastair Beach | Thursday, July 17, 2014