Two ISIS Women Land in Germany after Release from Iraqi Prisons

Two protesters at a demonstration in the German city of Offenbach. Asharq Al-Awsat
Two protesters at a demonstration in the German city of Offenbach. Asharq Al-Awsat
TT

Two ISIS Women Land in Germany after Release from Iraqi Prisons

Two protesters at a demonstration in the German city of Offenbach. Asharq Al-Awsat
Two protesters at a demonstration in the German city of Offenbach. Asharq Al-Awsat

Two German ISIS women with their three children have arrived in Frankfurt, after being held in a prison in the Kurdish capital Erbil. 

German newspaper Die Welt cited in its Friday issue reliable security circles, that the two ISIS women arrived at the Frankfurt International Airport a day earlier.

German authorities allowed the two women to take their children after undergoing a DNA screening to prove maternity, the newspaper said.

The two women and their young children were transported to Germany on an Iraqi Airways flight, and were accompanied by Germany’s Federal Criminal Police. They are expected to be referred to special guidance committees.

Die Welt sources confirmed that the two women were released and that the Federal Public Prosecution failed to obtain an arrest warrant against them.

However, the Supreme Court authorized federal police to search and interrogate the two women upon arrival in Frankfurt.

Last year, Germany’s Attorney General Peter Frank confirmed that he had zero tolerance policy against German ISIS members who had voluntarily joined the terrorist organizations and then returned from combat zones in Syria and Iraq.

However, the Federal Court rejected their request for detention because there were insufficient evidence of their support for the terrorist organization.

The court distinguishes between male combat duties in ISIS and the duties of others who join but conduct activity limited to childcare and housekeeping. It considers that German penal laws do not apply to such activity. 

Frank challenged the court's decision in January, but federal court judges have not yet ruled on the case until the arrival of the two women to Germany. 

According to Die Welt’s report, there are over 80 Germans who are currently imprisoned in northern Syria and Iraq. Women prisoners have many children, some of whom were born in the war-torn countries and in captivity.

So far 10 children have been repatriated to Germany after undergoing DNA analyses to prove their links to the German so-called “jihadi” women detained abroad.



New Orleans Attack Suspect Acted Alone, Supported ISIS, FBI Says

Louisiana National Guard stands guard at a gated off area of the French Quarter near the scene of the car ramming on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 02 January 2025. (EPA)
Louisiana National Guard stands guard at a gated off area of the French Quarter near the scene of the car ramming on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 02 January 2025. (EPA)
TT

New Orleans Attack Suspect Acted Alone, Supported ISIS, FBI Says

Louisiana National Guard stands guard at a gated off area of the French Quarter near the scene of the car ramming on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 02 January 2025. (EPA)
Louisiana National Guard stands guard at a gated off area of the French Quarter near the scene of the car ramming on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 02 January 2025. (EPA)

A US Army veteran who drove a truck into a crowd of New Year's Day revelers had pledged allegiance to ISIS, but acted alone in the attack that killed at least 14 people, the FBI said on Thursday.

The suspect, who was shot dead at the scene after firing at police, has been identified as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old Texan who once served in Afghanistan.

He drove from Houston to New Orleans on Dec. 31, and posted five videos on Facebook between 1.29 a.m. and 3.02 a.m. on the morning of the attack in which he said he supported ISIS, the extremist militant group with fighters in Iraq and Syria, the FBI said.

In the first video, Jabbar explains he had previously planned to harm his family and friends, but was concerned that the media coverage would not focus on the "war between the believers and the disbelievers," FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia said at a press conference.

Jabbar also said in the videos that he had joined ISIS before last summer and provided his last will and testament, Raia said.

"This was an act of terrorism," Raia said. "It was premeditated and an evil act."

New Orleans officials said the Sugar Bowl college football game that had been scheduled for Wednesday in a New Year's Day tradition would take place on Thursday afternoon. The city will also host the National Football League's Super Bowl next month.

The FBI said there appeared to be no link between the attack in New Orleans and the episode in Las Vegas on the same day in which a Tesla Cybertruck packed with gasoline canisters and large firework mortars exploded in flames outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House on Jan. 20.

The injured victims in the New Orleans attack included two police officers wounded by gunfire from the suspect, taking place a mere three hours into the new year on Bourbon Street in the historic French Quarter. At least 15 people were killed, including the suspect, the FBI said.

Among the victims were the mother of a 4-year-old who had just moved into a new apartment after getting a promotion at work, a New York financial employee and accomplished student-athlete who was visiting home for the holidays, and an 18-year-old aspiring nurse from Mississippi.

Witnesses described a horrifying scene.

"There were people everywhere," Kimberly Strickland of Mobile, Alabama, said in an interview. "You just heard this squeal and the rev of the engine and this huge loud impact and then the people screaming and debris - just metal - the sound of crunching metal and bodies."

Meanwhile, authorities in other US cities said they had boosted security, including at Trump Tower and Times Square in New York City, adding that there were no immediate threats.

In Washington, police also said they had increased their presence as the capital prepares to host three major events this month: Congress' Jan. 6 certification of US President-elect Donald Trump's presidential election win, the Jan. 9 state funeral for former President Jimmy Carter, and Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration.

The FBI said an ISIS flag was found on the trailer hitch of the rented vehicle involved in the New Orleans attack.

US President Joe Biden condemned what he called a "despicable" act.

Public records showed Jabbar worked in real estate in Houston. In a promotional video posted four years ago, Jabbar described himself as born and raised in Beaumont, a city about 80 miles (130 km) east of Houston.

Jabbar was in the regular Army from March 2007 until January 2015 and then in the Army Reserve from January 2015 until July 2020, an Army spokesperson said. He deployed to Afghanistan from February 2009 to January 2010 and held the rank of staff sergeant at the end of service.