Wife of IS leader detained?

The Lebanese newspaper As-Safir reported on Tuesday that the arrests were linked to information from a "foreign intelligence apparatus." The claims by media outlets were otherwise sketchy.

Reuters said the officials declined to give the name or nationality of the woman arrested.

The newspaper As-Safir said she had been traveling with a fake passport. Investigators were questioning her at the Lebanese defense ministry headquarters, it said.

"Military intelligence detained one of his wives, who was travelling with their son, near [the Lebanese border town of] Arsal 10 days ago ," a source told the news agency AFP.

Associated Press later said it had been told by a Lebanese military official that the woman was a Syrian citizen.

IS controls swathe

Earlier this year, the 'Islamic State' militia headed by al-Baghdadi seized a swathe of northern Syria and western Iraq, declaring a "caliphate" over the area it holds. Last month, he called for an expansion into other Middle East nations.

A recent UN report said the IS was commiting war crimes on a "massive scale."

Al-Baghdadi has been on the US "terrorism" watchlist since October 2011. There is a $10 million (eight million euro) bounty for his capture.

The IS militia is the target of a 60-nation US-led air strike coalition whose ministers, including US Secretary of State John Kerry are due to meet in Brussels on Wednesday.

NATO ministers meeting in Brussels on Tuesday are also expected to discuss developments in Syria and Iraq.

US rules out 'no-fly' zone

On Monday, Washington again ruled out plans to create a "no-fly" zone along the Turkey-Syria border, amid reports that US officials were visiting Ankara to discuss a refugee safe haven.

Turkey has been pushing for a buffer zone inside Syria to shelter refugees. Millions have been displaced in Syria by fighting between forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, rebels opposing his regime, and the IS jihadists.

New UN coordinator for Lebanon

Late on Monday, the UN chief Ban Ki-moon named a new UN special coordinator for Lebanon which is sheltering over one million refugees from the Syrian war.

Sigrid Kaag of the Netherlands, previously headed the UN mission to rid Syria of chemical weapons.

She will replace British diplomat Derek Plumbly who served in Lebanon since 2012.

Kaag told the UN Security Council last month that work on destroying Syria's stockpile should be completed by mid-2015.

ipj/jr (Reuters, AFP)