American Woman Accused of Prominent Role in Islamic State

F.B.I. Federal prosecutors arrested an American woman. She was believed to have risen through the ranks at the Islamic State in Syria, becoming a battalion commandant, training women to use assault rifles or suicide belts.

Allison Fluke Ekren, 42, was a former Kansas teacher who was charged with providing material support for a terrorist organization. Although the F.B.I. was not immediately able to determine the circumstances of her capture in Syria, it did reveal that she was being held hostage. She was flown to Virginia on Friday to face charges.

Prosecutors stated that Ms. Fluke Ekren had played an unusually large part in the Islamic State as a female and an American. It is rare to see American women charged with involvement in the Islamic State.

Investigators believe Ms. Fluke Ekren was smuggled into Syria from Libya in 2012. She traveled to the country, according to one witness, because she wanted to wage “violent jihad,” Raj Parekh, a federal prosecutor, wrote in a detention memo that was made public on Saturday.

A criminal complaint was filed in 2019. A witness testified to the F.B.I. According to a criminal complaint filed in 2019, a witness told the F.B.I. that Ms. Fluke Ekren and her husband brought $15,000 into Syria to purchase weapons. According to the witness, her husband rose to become the commander of all snipers within Syria in 2014. Investigators stated that he died later in an airstrike while carrying out a terrorist attack for the Islamic State. According to court documents, Ms. Fluke Ekren met her husband in America.

The F.B.I. also heard the same witness. The witness also stated to the F.B.I. that Ms. Fluke Ekren planned to attack a college at the United States in 2014 with backpacks containing explosives. Prosecutors have not revealed the college she intended to attack. According to the criminal complaint, her plan was presented by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who was the leader of the Islamic State at this time. He approved the funding. Witnesses claimed that the attack was stopped after Ms. Fluke Ekren discovered she was pregnant. Ms. Fluke Ekren had many children, but it isn’t clear how many.

Prosecutors claimed that Ms. Fluke Ekren moved to Egypt in 2008. She lived there for three years, then traveled to Libya where she stayed for a year before moving to Syria. One witness claims that Ms. Fluke-Ekren left Libya because Ansar al-Sharia was no longer attacking that country and she wanted violent jihad.

In his memo arguing to keep Ms. Fluke-Ekren behind bars while she awaits trial, Mr. Parekh said she had been a “fervent believer in the radical terrorist ideology of ISIS for many years.” The prosecutor said the government had numerous witnesses who were prepared to testify against her.

According to the detention memo, the mayor of the Syrian city of Raqqa, the Islamic State’s self-proclaimed capital, approved the opening of a military battalion to train women to help defend the city. Investigators say that Ms. Fluke Ekren quickly became the leader of the unit and its organizer.

Witnesses claimed that Ms. Fluke Ekren taught classes to members of the battalion and that one occasion, a young girl was seen with an assault rifle. One witness stated that Ms. Fluke Ekren trained more than 100 women and girls. She had hoped to create a cadre of suicide bombers that could infiltrate enemies’ positions, but the effort never materialized, according to the complaint.

Ms. Fluke Ekren shared with another witness her desire to attack a shopping centre using a remote detonated vehicle filled with explosives. According to the witness, she wanted to kill large numbers.

According to court documents, Ms. Fluke Ekren was married to another Islamic State terrorist, a Bangladeshi man who was a specialist in drones and was planning to drop chemical bombs from high altitude. He also died. A witness claimed that she then married an Islamic State military leader, who was responsible for Raqqa’s defense.

Witnesses also stated that Ms. Fluke Ekren tried to send a message her family in an attempt to trick them into believing she was dead. This would allow the U.S. government to stop searching for her. The witness said that she had never wanted to return to America and that she wanted to be a martyr in Syria.

Virginia federal prosecutors have intensified their efforts to prosecute terrorists who were captured abroad. The cases can be difficult because witnesses and evidence are often only available in war zones and because of geopolitical considerations.

Mohammed Khalifa, a Canadian-Saudi-born Mohammed Khalifa, was arrested last year and charged with providing material assistance to terrorist organization that led to death. Mr. Khalifa was responsible for the narration and translation of approximately 15 videos made and distributed by Islamic State. He pleaded guilty and now faces life imprisonment.

Two British men, El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, who were part of an ISIS cell of four Britons called “the Beatles,” were brought to the United States in 2020 to face charges. Because of the accents of its members the group was nicknamed “the Beatles” by its victims, the group kidnapped, abused and killed more than 20 hostages, including American journalists James Foley, Steven J. Sotloff and both of whom were executed in propaganda videos.

Mr. Kotey has pleaded guilty to his involvement in the deaths four Americans in Syria. He could spend the rest of his life in prison. Mr. Elsheikh pleaded not guilt and awaits trial.