‘My mother was not a terrorist,’ says daughter of Michigan woman killed in Syria

The 18-year-old daughter of a Michigan mother killed during fighting in Syria claimed her mom was “just a regular American woman,” and not the terrorist she was made out to be.

On a Facebook page dedicated to the memory of 33-year-old Nicole Lynn Mansfield, who was killed this week amid clashes with forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad in the northwestern city of Idlib, Triana Lynn Mansfield wrote that she believes her mom was forced to stay in the civil war-ravaged country beyond a brief planned visit.

“She told me she would be back in a week…. They forced her to stay and die for media publicity,” the daughter wrote, referring to the Syrian government.

“So for all of you who think shes a terrorist or a CIA agent, f**k off. Because she wasnt. She was just a regular american woman who was misguided by the people who just wanted to use her because shes american. THEY ARE THE ONES WHO KILLED MY MOTHER! THE SYRIAN GOVERNMENT! Not because she was a terrorist, but because she was american,”(sic) read the post. “All these wars serve no purpose and my mother was caught in the crossfire.”

Other family members gave mixed assessments of Mansfield’s motivations.

Her grandmother Carole Mansfield told the Detroit Free Press that although her granddaughter possessed “a heart of gold”, she was “weak-minded”.

“I think she could have been brainwashed,” she said.

“I didn’t think she was [a terrorist], but God only knows,” her aunt, Monica Mansfield-Speelman said.

Mansfield-Speelman, who last saw her niece in August, said she and other family members did not approve of her niece’s conversion from Christianity to Islam and her short-lived marriage to a man they never met. The aunt said she doesn’t know the whereabouts of Mansfield’s ex-husband.

Family members reported Friday that they had been questioned by FBI agents about Mansfield a couple of years ago.

Agents had asked why she had traveled to Dubai for a few weeks, but family members said they did not know much about her trip.

Mansfield first became interested in the Middle East after converting to Islam and marrying an Arab immigrant several years ago, her aunt said, but her family had lost touch with her in recent years and had no idea she had gone to Syria.

“We didn’t know she was over there. We didn’t know she was gone, but Nicole, she was known to take off like that,” Mansfield-Speelman said. “She was a traveler, I guess you could say. She didn’t stay in one place.”

Family members said FBI agents visited them Thursday and informed them of Mansfield’s death. Simon Shaykhet, an FBI spokesman in Detroit, said he could confirm agents spoke to Mansfield’s family, but he declined further comment.

One of Mansfield’s cousins, Deidra Mansfield, said she was close to her cousin for years growing up, but they grew distant as she embraced her new faith and spent more time away from home. Deidra Mansfield said she and others unsuccessfully tried to keep her fully engaged with them.

“If I would call her, she’d act like everything was normal on the phone,” she said.

She believed her cousin lived most recently in Detroit, where she told family she was attending a school. But she never provided any details about her education or her living situation.

Monte Mansfield, 22, said his sister “would never open up about” Islam with him, but that was just as well — he said they got along and he liked to pick on her as a little brother should whenever she was home.

Their father, Gregory Mansfield, said he didn’t like her decision to convert. Despite his misgivings, he said he took her in when she needed a place to live for a short time until about a year ago. The elder Mansfield said he did not allow her to wear a hijab in the home, and “she would respect that.”

Her brother said the last time they communicated was about two months ago. She was going to Wayne State University in Detroit, and she texted him to say that she wanted to see a movie with him when the winter semester was over. They never got the chance, he said.

One of Mansfield’s close friends, Tasha Williams of Huntington, Ind., said she called in mid-May to say she would be returning on a flight from Turkey to the US in a few days after traveling to Syria to see a man. She wanted to be picked up at the Cincinnati airport.

“She said she was in a hotel room. She needed to get away from everything. I never heard from her again,” Williams said.

Williams said she and Mansfield were certified nursing assistants.

“My boss was holding a position for her in Indiana. This is where she’s supposed to be right now,” Williams said.

The longtime friend was able to glean some details about Mansfield’s other life that family members struggled to find out about. Williams said Mansfield met a man from the Middle East online and they married at the Grand Canyon in 2007 but divorced three years later when Mansfield learned he had another family.

Even if Mansfield got in over her head, Williams said she believed her friend would “absolutely not” take up arms.

“Nicole Mansfield has never been in a fight in her life except with me. We were 13 and became friends the next day. She’s the biggest scaredy cat. … She avoided drama at all costs,” Williams said.

Mansfield is the only American known to have been killed fighting in Syria, where 70,000 people have died in a two-year civil war. A pro-Syrian government news agency said Mansfield and two others were fighters for a group opposed to Syria’s government and were killed in a confrontation in the northwestern city of Idlib. The report on the circumstances of the deaths could not immediately be confirmed.

The US State Department said in response to the reports that “we are aware of the case. As we do in all such cases, we are working through our Czech protecting power in Syria to obtain more information, and we appreciate the efforts of the Czech on behalf of our citizens. Because of privacy considerations we are unable to comment further.”