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Kosovar Woman Accused Of Joining Islamic State In Syria


PRISTINA -- Prosecutors in Kosovo have filed terrorism charges against a woman accused of having joined the Islamic State (IS) extremist group in Syria.

Kosovo;s Special Prosecution said on May 6 it had filed the indictment against the suspect, identified only as D.D., to the Basic Court in Pristina.

She faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of the charge -- "organizing and participating in a terrorist group."

The suspect left Kosovo in October 2014 to go to Syria via North Macedonia and Turkey.

In Syria, she joined her husband, an IS fighter who trained her how to use an automatic rifle and made her part of the militants' logistics group.

After her husband was killed, she married another IS fighter, living and operating in Syria's conflict zones until December 2018, when she was arrested near the border with Turkey.

The suspect is part of a group of 110 Kosovars repatriated from Syria in April last year. They included four alleged IS fighters, 32 women, and 74 children.

About 400 Kosovars, including men, women, and children, are believed to have joined terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq.

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