“My wife, Ola Mithqal al-Oqaily, Um Ali (the mother of Ali), was taken two days ago from Tripoli, the city that is called the city of Islam and Muslims,” said Abu Ali Al-Shishani in a video posted on the internet and quoted by the Daily Star. "If my wife is not released soon, do not dare to dream about the release of the soldiers without negotiations… even if you hold all Muslims captive.”
Al-Oqaily has been detained along with the ex-wife of IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in what the Star interprets as an attempt by the Lebanese government to gain leverage in ongoing negotiations for the release of a group of policemen and soldiers who are being held hostage by militants. Security forces told the Middle East Eye that al-Oqaily’s children were in a social care center.
In the video, released on Thursday, Al-Shishani refers to the Qatari envoy attempting to broker an agreement between the groups and Lebanese authorities over the hostages’ release: “If the Qatari mediator cannot resolve this very soon, then he is no longer welcome in the outskirts and I won't allow him to enter,” declares the commander. “I had left the negotiations case with ISIS and Nusra Front… I had nothing to do with the Lebanese captives but now things have changed.”
The militant Islamist issued his threat against Shiite Muslims in the region, declaring: “Women and children of the pigs and the slaves of Khomeini and all who follow them: all your wives, children and men are legitimate targets now,” while calling on Sunnis in Tripoli and Lebanon to join him in jihad.
