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Called to Fight
Laura Yuen
St. Paul, Minn.

Feds say St. Paul woman stole passport, went to Syria

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Federal prosecutors on Tuesday charged a third person as part of an investigation into a possible pipeline between Minnesota and radical groups in Syria.

Unlike two cases announced last week, prosecutors are not accusing 20-year-old Yusra Ismail with aiding terrorists. They charged the St. Paul woman only with stealing a passport that she allegedly used to travel to Syria.

According to the criminal complaint, Ismail visited a friend's apartment in August and asked to see the woman's passport. Ismail then took the passport when she left her friend's home.

Three days later, Ismail took a plane to the Netherlands and then Norway. She eventually called her family and told one of them she was in "Sham." That's a term commonly used to describe the area within Syria and Iraq where the self-described Islamic State is trying to establish a caliphate.

Family members tell MPR News that Ismail told them she went to Syria to study the Quran. A sister says the family's last contact with the FBI was about three weeks ago, when agents said they had no luck in tracking down Ismail.