American Woman Charged over ’ISIL’ Links Detained

Local Editor

An American woman charged with lying to federal investigators about supporting militants belonging to the so-called "Daesh" ["ISIL"] extremist group agreed to remain in jail until her trial after she answered yes-or-no questions from the judge, the Associated Press reported.

An affidavit filed by an FBI agent says the 29-year-old Heather Elizabeth Coffman "is suspected of conspiring and attempting to provide material support" to the "Daesh" extremist group.

According to the affidavit, Coffman promoted the extremist organization on several Facebook accounts she maintained under various names. Those posts prompted a sting by the agent, who posed as a "Daesh" backer.

The agent wrote that Coffman talked about making arrangements for a man she identified as her husband to train and fight with "Daesh" in Syria. Coffman meanwhile said the man, who is not named in court papers, backed out when the couple split up. The affidavit said that Coffman offered to use her contacts with the group to make similar arrangements for the FBI agent and a fictitious friend, and then denied supporting any terrorist groups when she was questioned later by two other FBI agents.

Coffman's case surfaced about a month after three teenage girls from Colorado possibly were heading to Syria to try to join "Daesh" militants when they were detained at an airport in Germany and sent home. 

Coffman's next court appearance has not been scheduled, the AP agency reported.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team