US woman pleads guilty to leading Islamic State battalion

By ERIC TUCKER
Associated Press

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — An American woman who prosecutors say led an all-female battalion of Islamic State militants in Syria has pleaded guilty in a case that a prosecutor called a first-of-its-kind in the United States. Allison Fluke-Ekren broke down sobbing after admitting in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia on Tuesday to conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. The charge carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence. Her guilty plea resolves a criminal case that came to light in January after Fluke-Ekren was brought to the U.S. to face accusations that she led an Islamic State unit of women and young girls and trained them in the use of automatic rifles, grenades and suicide belts.