Source: X | @NewYorkFBI
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A federal jury in Brooklyn found Halima Salman guilty on October 27, 2026, of receiving military-type training from the Islamic State in Syria. Salman, a Brooklyn native, was taken to Syria at age 17 in 2017, joined an all-female ISIS battalion, and trained with an assault rifle. She faces up to 10 years in prison at sentencing on February 2.
ANALYSIS
A jury in the Eastern District of New York returned a guilty verdict on October 27 against Salman on one count of receiving military-type training from a designated foreign terrorist organization. Born in Brooklyn, she traveled to Syria in 2017 at age 17 after her father told the family they were going to Turkey. She joined ISIS's Nusaybah Katibah, an all-female battalion, and married an ISIS fighter. She returned to the United States in 2024 and was arrested on arrival by the FBI New York Field Office. Her husband recorded video of her holding and handling an assault rifle she had been trained to use. Prosecutors also presented evidence that the two exchanged extremist material, including a sermon praising jihad and Osama bin Laden.
The defense argued she was a teenager trapped by her father and then her husband, complying out of fear. Following the verdict, defense counsel filed a motion to set aside the verdict and enter an acquittal. Courts grant such motions rarely. Judge Natasha C. Merle set sentencing for February 2, 2027. Salman faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison.
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