Alabama woman who joined Islamic State seeks return to US

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — An Alabama woman who left home to join the Islamic State after becoming radicalized online wants to return to the United States.

A lawyer for the family of 24-year-old Hoda Muthana told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday that the woman knows she was wrong to join the terrorist organization.

Attorney Hassan Shibly says Muthana is ready to pay the penalty for her actions but wants freedom and safety for the 18-month-old son she had with an IS fighter who has since died.

Muthana fled her home in suburban Birmingham in late 2014 and resurfaced in Syria, where Shibly says she wed two IS fighters. She used social media to advocate violence against the United States.

Shibly says Muthana was brainwashed and now could have valuable intelligence for U.S. forces.