ISISEx-wife of ISIS leader transferred cash for ISIS in Lebanon

An investigation has revealed that for months Saja al-Dulaimi, the Iraqi ex-wife of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of the Islamic State, had been siphoning cash through Lebanon to the militants under a fake name.

As the Washington Post reports, Dulaimi, who operated as a Syrian citizen by the name of Mallak Abdullah with fake documents, has been detained along with a girl who is Baghdadi’s biological daughter, according to Lebanese military officials.

The investigation into Dulaimi has exposed some of the tactics that Islamist militias use to move funds throughout the region. She has purportedly transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars in just the past year alone. The report also revealed how the families of Syrian and Iraqi militants are settling in Lebanon, using the cover of refugee camps and Christian communities as a cover for their movements. Further, it reveals the actions of a woman who does not operate in accordance with the usual image of a woman in a jihadist world.

“She’s not your stereotypical woman,” said Fawaz Gerges, a professor of Middle Eastern studies at the London School of Economics. “More such women are carrying out suicide operations and helping to collect intelligence and distribute funds for radical groups.”

Dulaimi, who is in her 30s and has had at least three husbands, has lived in different countries in the region, officials report. She has been described as strong-willed and very independent. She blended into a makeshift camp for Syrian refugees in the town of Arsal, located near the border. The number of people at the camp was larger than the number of residents of Arsal, which is 35,000.

Dulaimi had married Baghdadi about six years ago in a union that only lasted for about three months, according to Sheik Hassan al-Dulaimi, and elder from Iraq’s Anbar province and a member of the same tribe. Officials added that the union may have been typical of some traditional marriages – weddings aimed at solidifying political ties or relationships between different families.

“It could have been Baghdadi who pushed for the union, given the prominence of Dulaimi’s tribe,” said Labib Kamhawi, an analyst based in Jordan. He noted that Iraqi tradition actually allows for a relatively easy divorce, meaning that a more practical relationship may have been the goal from the start.

Dulaimi has been described by officials as very strong-willed and combative during interrogations.

“It’s because she’s committed to her beliefs,” said one anonymous official.