German IS Supporter Returns with Four Children, Faces Legal Action

A 37-year-old German woman has been apprehended upon her return from Syria, where she was allegedly affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization. The mother, who has four children aged 8, 10, 12, and 14, is currently in custody in Bavaria. The Munich Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating her for membership in a terrorist organization as well as for violations of child welfare and education duties.

The woman, who was born in Germany and identifies as Muslim, left the country in 2014 with her three children, traveling through Turkey to enter Syria, which was then embroiled in civil conflict. Authorities allege this decision endangered her children's lives.

In Syria, she met her first husband, an IS member, and subsequently joined him under the group's command. According to the prosecution, she became actively involved with IS by October 2014. Reports indicate that she received training in the use of firearms and contributed to the support of two active fighters. At one point, she possessed an assault rifle in her home.

Her first husband died in a suicide attack while fighting for IS in July 2015, after which she married another IS combatant and had an additional child. Investigators believe she was aware of her husbands' activities and supported them while raising her children in alignment with IS ideology. The family reportedly received monthly financial assistance from the terrorist organization.

Concerns have been raised regarding the indoctrination of her children into IS beliefs, with authorities fearing that they may adopt the organization's goals and methods, potentially leading them towards a criminal lifestyle.

The woman and her children were discovered in a Kurdish-run camp in Roj and were repatriated to Germany on April 30, following an existing arrest warrant. The children are currently in the custody of their grandmother, the woman's mother, in close coordination with the relevant youth welfare office.