US authorities have arrested a Philadelphia woman with a connection to Jamaica and charged her with attempting to provide support to militant group Islamic State (IS).
The US Justice Department said the woman, who was arrested on Thursday, was planning to travel overseas to join the organisation.
Keonna Thomas, 30, also known as Fatayat al-Khalifah and YoungLioness, was charged with trying to provide material support and resources, including herself as a fighter, to a foreign terrorist organisation.
It’s alleged that having applied for a passport in February, she e-mailed a radical cleric in Jamaica, saying she had deactivated her Twitter account until leaving for Syria to avoid attention.
Under Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) surveillance, she allegedly e-mailed an IS extremist based in the group’s stronghold of Raqqa in northern Syria. According to the Justice Department, if convicted, Thomas faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
Thomas is the second Syria-linked terror case involving US women announced by prosecutors in days.
Two women were arrested in New York on Thursday and charged with planning to build a bomb and attack the United States, allegedly inspired by Al Qaeda and IS.
Jamaica’s Ministry of National Security last month dismissed a claim by a US army General that Jamaicans have joined ISIS in Syria
