A court in Virginia has denied bail to Kansas-based woman Allison Fluke-Ekren, who faces terrorism charges for allegedly heading an Islamic State battalion of women.
The 42-year-old American woman is now facing up to 40 years in prison.
According to the US department of justice, Fluke-Ekren, a United States citizen, “organised and led an all-female military battalion on behalf of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS)”.
She has also been charged with “providing and conspiring to provide material support to ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organisation.”
A criminal complaint filed against her showed that she went by multiple alias names such as “Allison Elizabeth Brooks”, “Allison Ekren”, “Umm Mohammed al-Amriki”, “Umm Mohammed” and aka “Umm Jabri”.
She is believed to have travelled to Syria years ago.
“These activities allegedly include, but are not limited to, planning and recruiting operatives for a potential future attack on a college campus inside the United States and serving as the appointed leader and organizer of an ISIS military battalion, known as the Khatiba Nusaybah,” the justice department said.
Fluke-Ekren trained women on the use of automatic firing AK-47 assault rifles, grenades and suicide belts, officials said.
“Additionally, Fluke-Ekren allegedly provided ISIS and ISIS members with services, which included providing lodging, translating speeches made by ISIS leaders, training children on the use of AK-47 assault rifles and suicide belts and teaching extremist ISIS doctrine,” the justice department said.
Before heading to the Middle East, Fluke-Ekren was working as a schoolteacher in Kansas. But how she went on from teaching hundreds of kids to joining Isis remains unclear.
Her family, including her parents and adult children, have said they do not wish to have any contact with her.
The affidavit shows Fluke-Ekren moved to Egypt in 2008 before moving to Syria around 2012. In late 2016, she allegedly became the leader of a unit called “Khatiba Nusaybah” in the Syrian city of Raqqa.
