NEW YORK — A federal jury in Brooklyn on October 27, 2026, convicted Halima Salman, a 27-year-old U.S. citizen and former Brooklyn resident, of knowingly receiving military-type training from ISIS in Syria. The verdict came after a trial before U.S. District Judge Natasha C. Merle in the Eastern District of New York.

What the jury found

According to the Justice Department, Salman’s parents took her and eight siblings from the United States to ISIS-controlled Syria in September and October 2016. Prosecutors said that after her July 2017 marriage, when she was 18, she voluntarily sought military-style training, received authorization to carry an assault rifle, and completed a course with the Nusaybah Katiba, also rendered “Khatiba Nusaybah.”

The government’s central evidence included a training certificate found on her husband’s battlefield-recovered cellphone, photographs of Salman with an ISIS flag in the background, and a video of her holding an AK-47 rifle, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

The defense: coercion and captivity

The case was not a conventional homegrown-radicalization prosecution. The New York Daily News reported that Salman testified she was taken to Syria at 17 by her father and later described marital captivity. Her lawyers argued she was a teenager drawn into Syria’s civil war by her father and then controlled by her husband.

Prosecutors framed the verdict as accountability for voluntary alignment with ISIS. The defense framed it as the story of a minor who never chose Syria.The central tension of the trial

Section 2339D requires that a defendant knowingly receive the training, with knowledge that the group is designated or engages in terrorism. It does not remove defenses such as duress. The jury rejected that argument, though Courthouse News and other outlets reported the panel twice said it was divided. The Los Angeles Times reported she remained on bond pending sentencing on February 2.

What prosecutors had to prove

“Military-type training” is defined broadly. It covers instruction in methods that can cause death or serious injury, damage property, disrupt critical infrastructure, or use, store, produce or assemble explosives, firearms and other weapons, according to the statute. The government does not need to show the trainee later used those skills or planned an attack in the United States.

Why a Syria case was tried in Brooklyn

Congress gave the statute extraterritorial reach. Jurisdiction can rest on several grounds, including that the offender is a U.S. national, or is later found in the United States. That is why conduct in 2016–2017 could be tried in 2026 after Salman’s repatriation.

Where § 2339D sits among terrorism statutes

The distinction matters. Salman was convicted of receiving training, not of an attack in the United States. The Supreme Court upheld the broader material-support framework, including bans on coordinated “training” and “expert advice,” in Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project, 561 U.S. 1 (2010).

Why the verdict matters

Salman is reported to be the first woman accused of ISIS membership to stand trial in federal court, according to The New York Times, making the case a test of how U.S. courts treat female foreign-fighter and “ISIS bride” cases. It also shows the evidentiary weight of battlefield digital material: a phone recovered in Syria supplied documents and images used years later in a U.S. courtroom.

A wider enforcement picture

The verdict came as other ISIS-related cases continued. In early October, the FBI arrested a 17-year-old from McKinney, Texas, accused of plotting to assassinate Rep. Keith Self and carry out an ISIS-inspired attack in North Texas, according to NBC Dallas–Fort Worth. Officials said he acquired a firearm before his arrest and remains in federal custody. The allegations have not been proven in court; see also The Center Square.

Such cases usually involve material-support, attempt, conspiracy or training charges rather than completed attacks. Sentencing in the Salman case, where the maximum is 10 years, is the next milestone.

Khurram Ali Raza

Khurram Ali Raza reports for the World Desk at Faith & Freedom News, covering international affairs, justice and security. More from this author