Kansas woman who leader of ISIS battalion sentenced to 20 years in prison

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BUT former Kansas school teacher who became a rare female leader in Islamic State and commanded her own battalion in Syria was sentenced on Tuesday to 20 years in federal prison.

Allison Fluke-Ekren admitted that she worked out more than 100 women – including girls young like 10 years use assault rifles, grenades, and suicide bombs as the Islamic State battled US-backed forces. for control of Syria in 2017. Fluke-Ekren’s contribution to the Islamic State continued after her second third and fourth husbands were killed while working for terrorist group and 5-year-old son died in tank strike, according to court records.

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Researchers of extremist movements say 42-year-old Fluke-Ekren first and so far only the US woman will be prosecuted for Islamic State leadership role. Two of Fluke-Ekren’s children described her as a rapist who fantasized about moving out attacks and who tried to impress others kill “unbelievers”. Federal Attorney Raj Parekh called Fluke-Ekren “Empress of ISIS.”

“Let there be no doubt that the goal of this battalion was, – said Parekh, first Assistant U.S. Attorney for Eastern District of Virginia. He said that “it wasn’t for myself-defenseand that the Islamic State document showed that the member of Fluke-Ekren Brigade”wanted to be first carry out suicide operation.

Defense lawyers disputed the allegations of child abuse and characterized Fluke-Ekren as a leader. of a battalion that never participated in the battle.

“We didn’t even shoot gunFluke-Ekren said. “I have never seen a suicide bomb go off or one”.

Former friends said that Fluke-Ekren was diligent young mother who earned biology degree at the university of Kansas, went to graduate school in Indiana and worked as a teacher in Kansas City, Missouri, before moving with her children as well as second husband in Egypt in 2008. She then took a sharp turn towards extremism, alienation family members told US investigators.

Fluke-Ekren has grown up as Allison Elizabeth Brooks on 81 acre farm in Overbrook, Kansas daughter of teacher and army veteran who served in Vietnam, prosecutors said.

“There is nothing in The origin of Fluke-Ekren, which may explain her behavior, ”Parekh said during the sentencing. Fluke-Ekren’s father told the US authorities that she was “predisposed to bigotry” and “often watches for people to give she’s having a hard time for be a Muslim.”

Was she religious? Yes. She was from Central America. Before becoming a Muslim, she was like Biblical Christian, Amy Amer, former friend of Fluke-Ekren told The Washington Post in June. Amer said she was stunned when Fluke-Ekren began to support extremist ideas.

Fluke-Ekren pleaded guilty to this. year to conspiracy charges of security material support terrorist organization, admitting that it helped terrorist groups while in Iraq, Libya and Syria from 2011 to 2019. Free in English and Arabic, Fluke-Ekren assistance included document analysis for Ansar ash-Sharia, group behind in attack on US connection in Benghazi, Libya, where four Americans died in 2012, according to her guilty plea. She is also provided assistance to the al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, prosecutors said.

But it was in Islamic State that Fluke-Ekren will play a prominent role.

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In 2016, Fluke-Ekren’s second husband oversaw Islamic State snipers in Syria, and she organized child care, medical services and education in in city of Raqqa, according to court documents. Fluke-Ekren trained women as well as young girls use AK-47 assault rifles, grenades and suicide belts with explosives in need male fighters help protection against enemy attacks, her plea documents say. one witness who received military how the girl said that Fluke-Ekren later told her that “it is important kill kafirs, Arabic word for non-believers, the documents say.

As the male fighters lost ground in 2017 – US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, mayor of the Islamic State. of Rakka called Fluke-Ekren the leader of Khatiba Nusayba, all female battalion. Fluke-Ekren’s group conducted medical training and religious classes, and also taught martial arts. it also courses on vehicle explosions and how pack a travel bag with rifles and military supplies, according to the documents submitted to the court in June.

U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema imposed maximum sentence allowed under Fluke-Ekren’s plea agreement. The judge said she did not consider Fluke-Ekren’s statements at Tuesday’s hearing to be “completely credible.” Fluke-Ekren said she provided only “unwittingly” support to Ansar ash-Sharia in in aftermath of Benghazi attacks and told the referee that she was training women handle weapons in Syria is not for terrorist purposes, and help prevent fatal accidents in Syria homes and teach women myself-defense in case enemy the combatants tried to rape them.

“Overwhelming majority of my time was spent cooking, cleaning, taking children doctors applying antiseptic on scraping knees and settling disputes between siblings,” Fluke-Ekren said, often bursting into tears during her remarks to the judge.

Brinkem said that the teaching women and girls to use “Suicide belts are by no means self-protective.defenseand that she disagrees with Fluke-Ekren describes himself as a “passive deceiver” who was involved in terrorist activities second husband.

Witnesses say Fluke-Ekren planned various mass casualty strikes, though she never did. out attacks. Woman with ISIS ties told investigators that the idea was Fluke-Ekren’s. in 2014 to blow up an american college in Midwest. One of Fluke-Ekren’s daughters told US investigators how in former Mom from Kansas ‘explained she could go to the mall in United States, park vehicle full of explosives in basement or garage level of building and detonate explosives in in vehicle with cell phone goes off device”. daughter said that Fluke-Ekren considers any attack is not kill a large number of of people waste of resources,” the court documents say.

“In reality, Khatiba Nussaib barely managed to one one hundred women, including members appointed as nannies, nurses and cooks.” defense lawyers Joseph King and Sean Sherlock wrote in a summary of the verdict. “Loosely Organized group did not have formal ranks, did not receive uniforms and weapons, and never participated in hostilities. in fought and did not shoot against en enemy”.

In a lawsuit in In August, Fluke-Ekren’s lawyers said her postponing applications out terrorist attacks in The US was the answer to the “shock and horror of war” she endured after the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, or “the US or US-led coalition forces” killed Syrian civilians in bombing and airstrikes.

“In 2015 one of her children was killed and another seriously injured as a result of this attack on residential area,” wrote King and Sherlock. “She saw numerous friends, neighbors and children killed in similar incidents during the war.”

Lawyers denied allegations of mistreatment by Fluke-Ekren. children, calling them “inaccurate, exaggerated, hyperbolic and in many cases completely false”. They said that the allegations were disclosed by Fluke-Ekren. for in first time in September.

Parekh said Fluke-Ekren tried unsuccessfully to form a women’s battalion. for years before Islamic State leaders allowed her plans in Raqqa. Fluke-Ekren has not been charged with violent behaviour, but the prosecutor argued in a summary of the judgment she called on the other woman to bear out her own suicide attack and arranged adopt her child.

Fluke-Ekren decided not to cooperate with US investigators after her arrestParekh added.

“This defendant is probably a goldmine. of intelligence,” Parekh said. “All people that she met all the accomplices she trained, but she did not cooperate.

After her second husband was killed in airstrike, Fluke-Ekren married a specialist in unmanned aerial vehicle vehicles for Islamic state who worked on “attaching chemical weapons to drones to drop airborne chemical bombs,” the court filing says. He was also killed in airstrike. Fourth according to Fluke-Ekren husband was the Islamic State official in accusation of Rakki defense during a siege by US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces when he was killed.

Fluke-Ekren said that she abandoned Islamic state in 2019 and surrendered to the Syrian authorities in summer of 2021 “protect her children from difficulties of life in war-torn Syria,” her lawyers wrote. in innings. She was turned over detention in the USA in January, after 11 years outside United States.

One daughter who Speaking at Tuesday’s hearing, claimed Fluke-Ekren forced her to marry an Islamic State militant when she was 13 and he was 17. daughter claimed that an Islamic State militant had raped her. Fluke-Ekren claimed that it was her. daughter’s choice to marry a man.

In the recorded call with in daughter in January 2021 what Parekh played in court, Fluke-Ekren said, “You can’t give up because that’s the only time you lose.”

Referring to death of her second husband and 5-year-old sonFluke-Ekren said. on in call: “You don’t feel regret. Are you sad but you don’t regret like you hate what you did or decisions what are you madebut when you have goal and you know what do you do and you go on moving to this, you have no regrets.”

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