(Newser) – A young Western woman captured amid the rubble of Mosul is believed to be Linda Wenzel, a German teenager suspected of running away to join ISIS. Wenzel, now 16, was 15 when she apparently converted to Islam in secret and was radicalized online, the Guardian reports. She is believed to have traveled from Germany to ISIS-held territory last year after telling her mother she was spending the weekend at a friend's house. Iraqi security forces say Wenzel, who has now been transferred to Baghdad, was found among a group of around 20 female ISIS supporters from countries including Germany, Russia, and Canada.

Iraqi forces say the woman were armed and had barricaded themselves in a tunnel. Some of them were allegedly wearing suicide vests. German prosecutors say they are investigating whether the captured girl, whose photo was posted on an Iraqi special forces Facebook page, really is Linda Wenzel. An Iraqi lawmaker from the Yazidi minority, which was severely persecuted by ISIS, said Wenzel had been identified by her mother, the Times of London reports. Vian Dakhil described Wenzel as a "sniper girl" and called for her to be put on trial instead of being allowed to return to Germany. (Read more Mosul stories.)

