khalil ali haydar
The setback for the Islamic State (IS) was revealed after their failure to control the city of Ayn Al Arab or Kobane near the Turkish-Syrian border recently.
Al Hayat newspaper reported on February 12, 2015: “There is a huge loss of Arab fighters, who formed a strange phenomenon for IS in its attempt to control the Kurdish city, as they heavily flocked in search of death.”
Syrian sources confirmed that Arab fighters of the terrorist organisation took hold of the most dangerous sites in Ayn Al Arab district where strikes are frequently intensifying.
Terrorists in Iraq and Syria are looking for death, as they call it “martyrdom. They hoped to die by entering into direct clashes with Kurdish security forces.
After increasing the frequency of international coalition strikes on Ayn Al Arab, the number of Saudis joining the organisation increased in the region, in turn IS called this city “Paradise Marketplace.”
The same sources added that Arabs flock to sites that are exposed to intense bombing, to fulfil their wish for death!
Al Hayat in another report published few months ago said that the Gulf Arabs are in charge of leadership and Jurisprudence matters, while Iraqis take care of security issues.
Mohammed Saud told Al Hayat that “the stories of young Arabs allied with terrorist organisations in Iraq and Syria start with temptations, but they usually end up with either being arrested or killed, and sometimes they return to their homelands with lots of regret. Many of those who went to IS did not ask for their parents’ permission before travelling.”
A few weeks ago, a Saudi court sentenced a person to six years in jail. He was convicted for joining Al Nusra front in Syria, then he pledged allegiance to IS after leaving Al Nusra. He moved from one terrorist organisation to another upon his arrival until he finally settled with IS.
The stories of terrorists are not only sad but scary at the same time. There was a report about two young men who died after being close friends since childhood.
The story has a very sad ending as Mounira Al Hudab reported for Al Hayat on February 16:
The two young men participated in two separate suicide missions in succession, targeting military bases in Iraq for IS.
The two friends deceived their parents by telling them that they were going on a Da’wa trip. One of them sold his own car to cover his and his friend’s travel expenses to join IS.
They moved between Syria and Iraq, refusing to be separate from each other even in the battlefield. Faisal, one of the friends, was known for being skilled in using anti-aircraft missiles, so he was entrusted with this mission.
Thus, Faisal took part in a “spree operation,” followed by a suicide bombing mission near the city of Baiji in the Salahuddin province of Iraq. Days after his death, his friend Suleiman blew himself up inside a booby-trapped vehicle, which was one of two consecutive operations.
Another terrorist named Abu Omar blew himself up inside a truck that carried more than seven tonnes of high explosives against a military base in north Tikrit.
Mohammed Al Marri, a military leader of IS was killed in an air strike by the international coalition in Ayn Al Arab, as he fought against “Assahawat” forces that were organised by tribal leaders in western Iraq. Recently, newspapers reported that Arab fighters in IS are taking their way to Libya, in particular to Darnah and Sirte, after the decline of its influence in Iraq and Syria.
(The writer is columnist and researcher)
