ISIS Uses Australians and Foreign Fighters As Suicide Bombers; Releases 'Slavery Guide' For Militants
Australians fighting alongside ISIS are being used by militants as "cannon fodder" and at least 20 of them have died in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Australian Attorney General George Brandies has warned that foreign fighters who have joined ISIS will only be killed in battle.
Based on official estimates, around a quarter of those who went to the Middle East to join ISIS militants were killed as new reports indicate that key battlegrounds like the town of Kobani near the Turkish border have been turned into "graveyards", according to The Daily Mail. Brandis told The Australian that the government was aware of the deaths of 20 Australians in the Middle East. More than 70 Australians are reportedly fighting alongside the extremist group in Syria and Iraq with the government expecting more deaths as U.S.-led coalition fighter planes continue to bomb ISIS targets.
Brandis said the number of dead Australian fighters has increased in recent weeks with several killed from encounters with government forces including those in Kobani. The Australian government has previously acknowledged 15 deaths but the number has since risen as the battle continues in the strategic town of Kobani.
ISIS exploits foreign fighters
The deaths of foreign fighters have prompted warnings that foreigners who join ISIS are only being used for propaganda to attract more recruits. Brandis accused ISIS of deceiving new recruits from Western countries into thinking that they play a significant role in their "religious" crusade. He warned that foreign fighters are being used as suicide bombers, cannon fodder and tools for ISIS propaganda.
The attorney-general believes that the young people of Australia and others in Western countries are being lured by a false notion of fighting in a noble war. Brandis went on to say that ISIS was only turning Western fighters into pieces of the militants' propaganda and publicity stunts. He added that in reality, foreign fighters are being exposed to "thoughtless" acts of violence on behalf of ISIS.
ISIS how-to guide on slavery
Meanwhile, ISIS has released a pamphlet "Slavery for Dummies" as a reference for militants in enslaving women. According to the Daily Beast, ISIS militants have put thousands of women from the Yazidi religious minority into slavery. With the use of a slavery guide, ISIS militants are ordered to follow the rules from the treatment of virgin women to beatings.
A document released on Dec 3 by ISIS' "Department for Prisoners and Women's Affairs" contains details explaining who can be turned into sex slaves, what justifies beatings and the circumstances that would allow the rape of pre-adolescent girls. The ISIS' department is headed by Abu Suja who helps militants enforce policies of the Shura Council which serves as the religious advisory body to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in a report by the Daily Mail.
Previous reports have indicated that up to 5,000 women and children were kidnapped and turned into slaves in ISIS-controlled territories in Syria and Iraq. ISIS' rules on slavery state that the women can be imprisoned and raped everyday by the militants who bought them as slaves.
