Man to spend decade in prison after fighting for ISIS
WASHINGTON () — A man was sentenced in Washington, D.C. for receiving military training from and fighting for the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), the U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) announced Monday.
Lirim Sylejmani, 49, pleaded guilty in December 2024 to receiving military-type training from a designated foreign terrorist organization, for which he was sentenced on June 2 to 10 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release.
The USAO detailed that from November 2015 through February 2019, Sylejmani received military training from ISIS while in Syria. He was eventually captured in 2019 by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
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Born in Eastern Europe, but a naturalized U.S. citizen, he traveled with his family to Syria in 2015 to join ISIS. Once there, he completed his 'ISIS intake process' and adopted the name Abu Sulayman al-Kosovi.
Sylejmani's military training included instruction on how to assemble and fire an AK-47 rifle, how to use a PK Machine gun, as well as an M-16 rifle and grenades.
After the 21-day training, ISIS assigned him to a battalion in Iraq, issuing him an AK-47, four AK-47 magazines, a belt and two grenades.
In May 2016, Sylejmani reported for guard duty on the front line of the Manbij offenses, bringing his gear to the assignment.
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During a battle with Coalition Forces, he was hurt when shrapnel hit his legs.
He was then reassigned to a new battalion in the fall of 2017.
The USAO noted he received payments from ISIS for his service.
From then until February 2019, Sylejmani moved his family to Baghouz, Syria, as the territorial Caliphate of ISIS collapsed.
On Feb. 27, he and his family were captured and he was jailed by the SDF in Syria. The following year, he was transferred to the United States, where he faced criminal charges in Washington, D.C.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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