ISIS women carried weapons, were not just brides: Trial testimony

ISIS women often carried weapons and were not just housewives, ISIS member Sabine S. testified in the fifth session of Omaima Abdi’s trial in Germany, according to investigative journalist Jenan Moussa.

“Many women in ISIS carried guns. I myself also carried a weapon while in Syria,” Sabine S. said in her testimony, Moussa told Al Arabiya English.

ISIS women on trial after returning to their home countries have stated they never carried weapons and were only housewives to ISIS fighters - a claim discredited by Sabine S. who was sentenced to five years in prison in July 2019.

The trial of Abdi follows her arrest in Germany five months after Moussa released her phone content, including pictures of her time in the self-proclaimed caliphate in Syria. Moussa’s coverage is being used as evidence in Abdi’s trial.

The investigation

Abdi’s trial started May 4, and she faces charges of crimes against humanity, membership in a terrorist group (ISIS) and the enslavement of a 13-year-old Yazidi girl.

Moussa’s investigation started when she obtained the content of Abdi’s phone, later tracking down Abdi to find her living normally in Hamburg, Germany.

The Bavarian State Police replied to Moussa’s revelations on Twitter and said that they are “working on it.” Five months later, Abdi was arrested.

ISIS women

Backing up Sabine S.’s claims is a social media campaign, which ISIS launched in 2015 to “normalize” the caliphate’s lifestyle. The campaign included photos of female members carrying weapons and posing with the group’s flag.

In 2019 Al Arabiya interviewed arrested ISIS members and their wives in Syria and the women were more “violent physically and psychologically,” according to Al Arabiya’s reporter Rola al-Khatib.
Covered in black and standing behind a fence, the women spoke to Al Arabiya about their ideology.

One of them said: “The creed that is planted here won’t be removed by anyone. Not Trump, nor America, nor the Jews, nor the infidels … no one.” The ISIS women stoned the filming team after the interviews had been conducted, causing the crew to leave the camp earlier than they had planned.