Woman who tried to send phones to ISIS to be used as bomb detonators jailed

She was caught in an undercover sting after using social media to contact terrorists

A US woman has been jailed after trying to send phones to ISIS to be used as bomb detonators. AFP

A US woman has been jailed for attempting to send phones to the Middle East to be used as bomb detonators by ISIS.

Alison Marie Sheppard, 35, of Florida, was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison on Friday.

She had pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to ISIS.

Sheppard began using Facebook and other social media applications in 2016 to connect with others who supported the terror group, according to court documents.

She also used social media applications to engage in encrypted communications with people she believed were supporters of ISIS.

One of those people was later apprehended by the FBI and began cooperating with federal law enforcement.

Sheppard also began communicating with two undercover agents who she believed were ISIS supporters.

In June 2017, Sheppard told the agents she could purchase and ship the phones for ISIS, prosecutors said.

She bought 10 phones the next month and posted them to one of the agents, believing they would be forwarded to the Middle East and used in pressure cooker bombs.