US woman guilty of ISIS military training

A federal jury in New York found a 27-year-old American woman guilty on Tuesday of receiving military training from the Islamic State in Syria. Halima Salman was convicted on a count that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The verdict marks the first time a US citizen has been tried in court for this specific charge.

Salman moved to an Islamic State-controlled area of Syria in 2016. She was 17 years old at the time. She traveled with her parents and eight siblings. According to the indictment, she married a fighter for the group. From age 18, she underwent training and was armed before joining an ISIS battalion.

Federal prosecutor Joseph Nocella stated that the office would continue to prosecute those who supported the group's rule. He described the organization as having devastated Syria and caused chaos globally. The government did not charge Salman with participating in combat. Instead, the charge focused on her receipt of military-style training from a foreign terrorist organization.

Salman was captured by Syrian fighters in 2019. She and several family members were held in a camp for several years. She returned to the United States in 2024. Authorities detained her immediately upon her arrival in the country.

Her defense attorney, Samuel Jacobson, argued that Salman was a victim of circumstances. He noted that her mother's husband made the decision to move the family to Syria when Salman was a minor. Jacobson also stated that her marriage was arranged. A previous American woman who commanded an ISIS battalion was convicted in the US in 2022. That case did not go to trial because the defendant pleaded guilty.

A 2022 report from George Washington University provides context for the number of Americans involved with the group. The study found that only 83 of the hundreds of US citizens who attempted to join the Islamic State actually reached Iraq or Syria. Salman is one of the few who integrated into the organization after arriving in the region.