Halima Salman faces federal trial for Islamic State training charges

A federal trial has commenced in New York for 27-year-old Halima Salman, who is accused of receiving military-style training from the Islamic State in Syria. This marks the first time an American woman has faced such charges in a federal court trial, following a 2022 case where a different individual pleaded guilty without a trial.

According to the indictment, Salman arrived in an Islamic State-controlled region of Syria in 2016 at the age of 17, accompanied by her family. While there, she reportedly married a militant and, starting at age 18, underwent weapons training and joined a unit within the organization. The prosecution is not charging her with direct combat participation, but rather with ‘receiving military-type training from a foreign terrorist organization,’ an offense that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

In 2019, Salman and several family members were captured by Syrian fighters opposing the Islamic State and were held in a camp for several years. Following her return to the United States in 2024, she was arrested upon arrival. Her defense attorney, Samuel Jacobson, argued that Salman was primarily a ‘victim of her father’s decision to lead her to Islamic State territories while she was a minor’ and claimed her marriage to a militant was arranged.