Details emerge about Iraqi help to track IS leader

BAGHDAD — Some information is emerging about how the United States might have been able to track Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

A senior Iraqi intelligence official says that a few months ago, an Iraqi aide to Baghdadi was killed in western Iraq by a US airstrike. The official says the aide’s wife was arrested in the operation and handed over by the Americans to Iraqi authorities.

The official says the wife ended up being a key source of information on Baghdadi’s whereabouts and that through her, the Iraqis ultimately were able to pass along to the United States coordinates on Baghdadi.

A second Iraqi security official says Baghdadi’s brother-in-law was recently arrested by the Iraqis and also helped with information about Abu Bakr’s whereabouts

The officials aren’t authorized to publicly discuss intelligence operations and speak on condition of anonymity.

— AP