Manhattan Trial: Teen Bride Convicted in Islamic State Weapons Case

Halima Salman, a New York citizen, was found guilty on Tuesday of receiving weapons training from the Islamic State. The jury returned its verdict after deliberations that began Thursday. Salman, now 27, had argued she was a teenager trapped by circumstance, while prosecutors described her as a willing participant in a global terrorist organization.

The central conflict of the trial revolved around the extent of Salman's agency in Syria. Defense attorneys presented her as a 17-year-old who was taken from Brooklyn by her father under the guise of a family trip to Turkey. She testified that the vehicle crossed into Syria, where masked gunmen surrounded them. Her defense argued she was subsequently "married off" at age 18 to an Islamic State fighter and forced to obey his commands.

Prosecutors, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Shami, countered that the evidence proved Salman pledged loyalty to the group. Shami told the jury, "The evidence shows that the defendant received military training from a violent, brutal, terrorist organization, an organization that is responsible for attacks across the world." The government presented a video of Salman holding an assault rifle, a photograph of her with the group's flag, and text messages she sent to her husband.

Salman testified that her marriage was marked by domestic labor and fear. She recalled her husband telling her on their first day together, "Get up, stupid wife, it’s time for you to be a wife." She stated that when she attempted to leave, the threat was death. "You try to leave, it is death," she said. She claimed to have repeatedly sought a divorce during the three years she remained in Syria.

The jury considered the timeline of Salman's time in the region. Her father died in 2018 after being injured in an airstrike. The family moved twice during her marriage because their homes were struck by bombs. In her final year, Salman described living in the streets amid constant explosions, where she saw "dead bodies everywhere." She eventually fled with other refugees in a truck, telling her husband they were separating before losing sight of him.

Prosecutors challenged the defense narrative by questioning Salman's honesty. During cross-examination, she conceded to sending a religious song about Osama bin Laden to her husband. The government also highlighted two affectionate text messages she sent him, arguing these contradicted her account of a purely coerced union. When explaining the video of her holding the rifle, Salman said she was complying with her husband's request to carry it.

Salman was detained in Baghouz, Syria, in 2019 by forces opposing the Islamic State group. She returned to New York in 2024, where U.S. authorities arrested her. The Islamic State group declared a caliphate in Iraq and Syria, losing control of territory in Iraq in 2017 and Syria in 2019, but maintains sleeper cells in both countries.

In the courtroom, Salman burst into tears upon hearing the verdict. A relative in the front row also cried and reached across the railing to comfort her. The judge left the room to confer with jurors before setting a date for sentencing.