Wife and child of Islamic State leader 'held in Syria after fleeing with false passports'

The wife of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has reportedly been detained at the Syrian border

Lebanese authorities detained Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's wife and child about 10 days ago, according to two officials.

Both were reportedly using false identity documents and are now being questioned, according to local media.

Reports differ over whether the child is a girl or a boy.

A senior Lebanese security official said that DNA tests were conducted to verify that al-Baghdadi was their father.

Lebanese daily As-Safir said that the arrest was in "coordination with foreign intelligence agencies."

Both Lebanese officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, refused to give any details about the woman who is believed to be one of the wives of the militant group's reclusive leader.

Authorities in Lebanon have made several arrests in recent months in a bid to crack down on IS and its sympathisers.

IS currently controls several key areas in Iraq and Syria, including Mosul, the second-largest city in Iraq.

Reports of beheadings, sexual violence and enslavement have emerged from IS strongholds.

The group was responsible for the murder US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, as well as British aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning.

According to a biography circulated by jihadists on the internet, the militant was educated at the University of Baghdad and – according to some – was a cleric in a mosque at the time of the US invasion.

He has at least one wife, although under rules followed by IS he is allowed up to four.

With IS, al-Baghdadi has declared an 'Islamic Caliphate' and called for "volcanoes of jihad" across the globe.

A US-led coalition is currently bombarded the militant group from the skies of Iraq and Syria.

On the ground Iraqi and Kurdish forces are battling to push back the terrorists.