US woman jailed for attempting to join ISIL -

Nineteen-year-old, who wanted to "correct the
wrongs against the Muslim world," arrested
before boarding plane from US.
24 Jan 2015 16:48 GMT | United States
Federal agents met with Conley several times
in an attempt to dissuade her from joining
ISIL [Reuters]
FEATURED
A 19-year-old Colorado woman who has
admitted that she had planned to travel
overseas to join the Islamic State in Iraq and
the Levant (ISIL), has been sentenced to four
years in a US federal prison.
In a statement to the court on Friday before
sentencing, Shannon Maureen
Conley expressed gratitude to the FBI for
"potentially saving my life" by intervening to
arrest her, and said she rejected the violent
ideology espoused by some Muslims.
"I believe in true Islam, where peace is
encouraged," Conley, a Muslim convert, said.
Conley, from suburban Denver, struck up an
online relationship last year with a Tunisian
man, identified as Yousr Mouelhi, who said he
was a member of ISIL, according to an FBI
arrest warrant affidavit.
"During their communications, Conley and
Mouelhi shared their view of Islam as
requiring participation in violent jihad,"
according to the plea agreement reached with
federal prosecutors.
Conley, a certified nurse's aid, went to a US
Army Explorers camp in Texas and had
firearms and first-aid training in preparation
for waging war against those she considered
infidels, court papers showed.
Federal agents met with Conley several times
in an attempt to dissuade her from joining
ISIL.
But Conley told them she planned to marry
Mouelhi and join the fighters to "correct the
wrongs against the Muslim world," even
though she knew it was illegal, the FBI
affidavit said.
Conley had faced up to five years in prison,
but prosecutors agreed not to seek the
maximum penalty because of her guilty plea
and co-operation with investigations.
She has been held without bond since federal
agents arrested her in April at Denver
International Airport as she prepared to board
a plane bound for Germany.
In September, Conley pleaded guilty in Denver
federal court to one count of conspiracy to
provide material support to ISIL, designated
by the US government as a foreign terrorist
organisation.
Source: Reuters