U.S. Woman Accused of Prominent Role in Islamic State

The F.B.I. has arrested an American girl who federal prosecutors mentioned had risen by the ranks of the Islamic State in Syria to turn out to be a battalion commander, coaching girls and kids to make use of assault rifles and suicide belts, the Justice Division disclosed on Saturday.

The lady, Allison Fluke-Ekren, 42, a former trainer from Kansas, was charged with offering materials help to a terrorist group. The circumstances of her seize in Syria weren’t instantly recognized, however the F.B.I. flew her to Virginia on Friday to face prosecution.

Prosecutors described Ms. Fluke-Ekren as taking part in an unusually outsized function within the Islamic State as a lady and an American. Prices in opposition to American girls concerned with the Islamic State have been uncommon.

Investigators mentioned Ms. Fluke-Ekren was smuggled into Syria in 2012 from Libya. She traveled to the nation, based on one witness, as a result of she wished to wage “violent jihad,” Raj Parekh, a federal prosecutor, wrote in a detention memo that was made public on Saturday.

In accordance with a legal criticism that was filed in 2019, a witness informed the F.B.I. that Ms. Fluke-Ekren and her husband introduced $15,000 to Syria to purchase weapons. Her husband, the witness mentioned, ultimately rose to be the commander of all snipers in Syria in 2014. He later died in an airstrike whereas conducting a terrorist assault on behalf of the Islamic State, investigators mentioned. Ms. Fluke-Ekren met her husband in the US, based on court docket paperwork.

The identical witness additionally informed the F.B.I. that Ms. Fluke-Ekren had a plan in 2014 to assault a university in the US utilizing backpacks crammed with explosives. Prosecutors didn’t reveal which school she had wished to focus on. The legal criticism mentioned her plan was offered to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the chief of the Islamic State on the time, who authorised it for funding. The witness mentioned the assault was placed on maintain after Ms. Fluke-Ekren realized she was pregnant. Ms. Fluke-Ekren had a number of kids, however it’s not clear what number of.

Prosecutors mentioned Ms. Fluke-Ekren moved to Egypt in 2008, lived there for about three years after which traveled to Libya, the place she stayed for a few 12 months earlier than sneaking into Syria. In accordance with one witness, Ms. Fluke-Ekren departed Libya as a result of one other terrorist group, Ansar al-Sharia, was not conducting assaults in that nation and he or she wished to wage violent jihad.

In his memo arguing to maintain Ms. Fluke-Ekren behind bars whereas she awaits trial, Mr. Parekh mentioned she had been a “fervent believer within the radical terrorist ideology of ISIS for a few years.” The prosecutor mentioned the federal government had quite a few witnesses who have been ready to testify in opposition to her.

In accordance with the detention memo, the mayor of the Syrian metropolis of Raqqa, the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed capital, authorised the opening of a navy battalion to coach girls to assist defend the town. Ms. Fluke-Ekren, investigators mentioned, quickly grew to become the chief and organizer of it.

Witnesses mentioned that Ms. Fluke-Ekren taught courses for members of the battalion, and on one event, a younger youngster of hers was seen holding an assault rifle. One witness mentioned that greater than 100 girls and women had acquired coaching from Ms. Fluke-Ekren. She had hoped to create a cadre of suicide bombers that would infiltrate enemies’ positions, however the effort by no means materialized, based on the criticism.

Ms. Fluke-Ekren informed one other witness about her need to assault a shopping center utilizing a remote-detonated automobile stuffed with explosives. The witness mentioned she wished to kill giant numbers of individuals.

Courtroom paperwork mentioned that after the demise of her husband, Ms. Fluke-Ekren married one other Islamic State terrorist, a Bangladeshi man who specialised in drones and was engaged on a plan to drop chemical bombs from the air. He additionally died. She then married an Islamic State navy chief who was liable for the protection of Raqqa, a witness mentioned.

A witness additionally mentioned that Ms. Fluke-Ekren claimed to have tried to ship a message to her household with the objective of tricking them into believing she was lifeless so the U.S. authorities would cease looking for her. She informed the witness that she by no means wished to return to the US and wished to die a martyr in Syria.

Federal prosecutors in Virginia have mounted an aggressive effort to prosecute terrorists captured abroad. The instances may be extraordinarily troublesome as a result of witnesses and different proof can typically solely be present in struggle zones, in addition to due to geopolitical concerns.

Final 12 months, Mohammed Khalifa, a Saudi-born Canadian who traveled to Syria in 2013 and later joined the Islamic State, was dropped at the US and charged with offering materials help to a terrorist group that resulted in demise. Mr. Khalifa offered the narration and translation for roughly 15 movies created and distributed by the Islamic State. He later pleaded responsible and faces life in jail.

Two British males, El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, who have been a part of an ISIS cell of 4 Britons known as “the Beatles,” have been dropped at the US in 2020 to face costs. The group, which was provided that nickname by its victims due to the accents of its members, kidnapped and abused greater than two dozen hostages, together with the American journalists James Foley and Steven J. Sotloff, each of whom have been beheaded in propaganda movies.

Mr. Kotey pleaded responsible to his function in deaths of 4 Individuals in Syria. He faces life in jail. Mr. Elsheikh has pleaded not responsible and awaits trial.