American woman repatriated from Syria accused of training with ISIS
By Hannah Rabinowitz, CNN
(CNN) — An American woman repatriated to the United States from Syria is facing criminal charges for training with ISIS abroad, according to court documents unsealed Tuesday.
Halima Salman, who is in her 20s, is accused of learning how to use an AK-47 assault rifle from the terrorist organization while living in Syria.
Salman, according to a US official, was one of 11 US citizens, all part of one family, from northeast Syria who were repatriated in what Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the “largest single repatriation” of Americans from that region.
A State Department official previously told CNN that none of the family are former ISIS fighters. CNN has reached out to the State Department for comment on the charges against Salman.
CNN has not been able to identify a lawyer for Salman.
According to court documents, Salman, who was 17 years old at the time, left the United States and entered an ISIS-controlled area of Syria around late 2016 or early 2017. Once she turned 18, prosecutors say, Salman received her training from ISIS. She was captured by or surrendered to “forces opposed by ISIS” about two years later in Baghouz, Syria.
In 2023, Salman was interviewed by FBI agents at a detention facility in Syria, court documents show. She allegedly told agents that she had married an ISIS fighter but denied being involved in any ISIS activities.
The FBI, however, obtained information from a phone found in the Middle Euphrates River Valley in Syria – a phone they claim belonged to Salman’s husband. The phone’s photo library had pictures of a document saying that Salman had completed her military training successfully and was in possession of an AK-47, prosecutors say, adding that the document was stamped with a signature indicating that it was issued by an ISIS military battalion composed solely of female members of ISIS.
The Kansas woman who led the all-female battalion of ISIS fighters that Salman allegedly trained with was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years in prison. The women in the battalion, some of whom were as young as 10, were trained to use explosives and firearms.
The phone also had pictures of Salman standing in front of an ISIS flag and walking with an assault rifle, prosecutors say.
The US has worked to repatriate Americans from the former ISIS territory and has encouraged other nations to repatriate their own citizens as well.
There are tens of thousands of people, “the majority of whom are children,” from more than 60 countries who remain in two sprawling encampments – Al-Hol and Roj – in northeast Syria, according to Blinken.
CNN’s Holmes Lybrand and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.
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