Halima Salman shields her face as she leaves federal court in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

NEW YORK - A New York woman whose father took her to Syria as a teenager and arranged her marriage to an Islamic State fighter was convicted Tuesday of receiving weapons training from the militant group.

Prosecutors said Halima Salman, a U.S. citizen, pledged loyalty to the extremist group and willingly participated in its activities. Jurors were shown a video of her holding an assault rifle, a photo of her with the group's flag, and loving text messages she sent her husband.


Brooklyn-based U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. said in a statement that the verdict held Salman  accountable for joining forces with a terrorist organization. 

The defense sought to portray Salman, now 27, as a teenager who was unwittingly trapped in Syria's civil war, first by her father and later by an extremist husband whose orders she had to follow.

 You try to leave, it is death,  Salman testified. She said she refused to be  married off  at age 18 and repeatedly tried to get a divorce.

Salman, her mother and even her defense attorneys wept after hearing the verdict. Still in tears, Salman and her mother later hugged each other across the railing between the audience and the courtroom well.

Jurors, who began deliberating Thursday, had repeatedly indicated Monday that they were struggling to reach a unanimous decision. The members declined to comment as they left court after the verdict.

Salman's lawyers also declined to comment. They are asking the judge to set aside the verdict and acquit her, as federal law allows if a judge finds the evidence presented at a trial doesn't legally support a conviction. Such requests are often made but rarely granted.

Salman's conviction carries the potential for up to 10 years in prison. Sentencing currently is set for Feb. 2.

The Islamic State group, which the U.S. government designates as a terror group, seized large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014 and declared the territory to be a caliphate. D
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