[NPASYRIA] The American Fox News channel said on Sunday, that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has arrested a former female soldier in the US Army who provided support for Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, formerly al-Nusra, before that it was called something else
 ...al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, from which sprang the Islamic State...
(HTS, formerly al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
Front), in Syria.
Federal attorney Craig Carpenito said that Maria Bell,
| ...alternately Maria Sue Bell of Hopatcong, Sussex County, New Jersey... |
53, was arrested at her home in New Jersey, last Wednesday, on charges of sending money and information to HTS members.
Bell used encrypted applications to communicate with the HTS and provide aid to hard boyz to fight the Assad regime, according to a statement of the US Department of Justice.
"Bell gave money through Western Union to members of the HTS and tried to hide the source of the money, and also provided them with information and advice on weapons and ammunition," the statement added.
Fox News revealed that Maria Bell used her combat experience, as she was a member of the US Army, to provide advice to members of HTS about fighting and using some types of weapons.
It added that Bell said in a phone call with members of the HTS, "It would be scary for you to join the fight on the front lines, but I am with you."
The money Bell sent when dealing with HTS, which is classified by the US as a terrorist organization, is estimated at $3,150 in 18 batches.
Bell faces charges up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted, while her lawyer declined to comment on the charges.
The US attorney general, Dean C. Sovolos said that the FBI found 136 guns, a rifle, and 15 ammunition packages and short-range rocket launchers inside her two-room house. 
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