Al-Qaida claims Pakistan detained wife of its chief Zawahiri

August 23, 2019 at 3:45 p.m. | Updated August 23, 2019 at 2:38 p.m.

by Associated Press

Pakistani police officer stand guard at the main gate of alleged militant hideout following a shootout on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan, Saturday, June 24, 2017. Security forces raided a militant hideout in the northwestern city of Peshawar before dawn Saturday, triggering a shootout in which three Pakistani Tailban were killed, senior police official Sajjad Khan said. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)
Pakistani police officer stand guard at the main gate of alleged militant hideout following a shootout on the outskirts of Peshawar, Pakistan, Saturday, June 24, 2017. Security forces raided a militant hideout in the northwestern city of Peshawar before dawn Saturday, triggering a shootout in which three Pakistani Tailban were killed, senior police official Sajjad Khan said. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad)

ISLAMABAD (AP) -- Al-Qaida has accused Pakistani security forces of detaining the wife of its chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri, and two other families of the insurgent group's "martyrs" for nearly a year.

In a statement, the leadership of al-Qaida on Friday alleged "treacherous Pakistani forces" captured Zawahiri's wife and others as they left the former Taliban stronghold of Waziristan bordering Afghanistan about a year ago due to continuous airstrikes.

It said: "We ... hold Pakistan's government and its treacherous army and their American masters responsible for their criminal acts."

There was no immediate comment from Pakistan.

Zawahiri, an Egyptian, became leader of al-Qaida following the 2011 killing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan by U.S. Navy SEALS. He is believed to be hiding somewhere in the region.

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