ISIS Executes Members Who Allegedly Planned Coup

It seems there's trouble in the Islamic State paradise, talk of coups and killings of dissidents, and defectors. Maybe they'll just kill each other off, and we'll be done with them.

In Raqqa, the seat of ISIS in Syria:

 Over the previous days, the city of Raqqa, in northeastern Syria, has seen several splits in the ranks of the Islamic State group (IS/ISIS), followed by arrest campaigns against a number of the group’s members.

The most prominent dissident name was Abu Talha al-Kuwaiti, the head of the al-Hisba security force of the group in the state of Raqqa, who fled with eight militants to an unknown destination, which led to imposing curfew in the city as well as carrying out raids and arrests.

Following the defection of al-Kuwaiti, the IS hardline group appointed Abu Huzaifa al-Balijiki as head of Hisba force in the state of Raqqa.

[Snip]

Military sources in Raqqa told ARA News that the escape of al-Kuwaiti was behind a big coup process led by Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, the IS alderman of Raqqa.

Al-Ansari, aka Abu Luqman, was reportedly fighting in the ranks of al-Nusra Front (Syria’s al-Qaeda branch) before joining the IS and being named as the governor of Raqqa.

“Two weeks ago, Abu Luqman was found dead, but the IS didn’t announce the news of his death or the conditions behind it,” a local source in Raqqa (who spoke on the condition of anonymity) said on Sunday.

The same source reported that al-Ansari (Abu Luqman) was earlier accused of coordinating with Abu Talha al-Kuwaiti to carry out a coup against the leadership of the IS group in eastern Syria.

More here.

One can only hope.

ISIS Executes 100 Foreign Jihadi Deserters In Raqqa Syria

It seems that some of the many foreign "Islamic State" fighters who have flocked to Syria are becoming disillusioned and deserting in droves. This is not sitting well with ISIS, so they're executing them. 100 in the latest round. That's 100 returning jihadis their home countries won't have to deal with.

An activist, who was identified by the newspaper as opposed to the Syrian regime and ISIS, confirmed to the FT the execution of the 100 foreign fighters attempting to flee Raqqa, the group’s de facto capital.

After being on the run for months, “frustration” began sweeping among the Islamist militants, the daily said.

Fighters sense a halt to ISIS’ military progress and are witnessing mounting casualties among their ranks, the report added.

“Morale isn’t falling – it’s hit the ground,” an opposition activist from ISIS-controlled areas of in Deir al-Zor told the newspaper.

Morale among the fighters was affected by the group’s shift toward governing areas it controls and because of U.S.-led air strikes halting their advances in Syria and Iraq.

“Local fighters are frustrated – they feel they’re doing most of the work and the dying … foreign fighters who thought they were on an adventure are now exhausted,” the opposition activist told the daily.

ISIS militants have taken desertion so seriously, they've created a military police force "to crack down on fighters who fail to report for duty.”

The activists said the ISIS “police” had raided the homes of several ISIS fighters and arrested many of them.

They also said ISIS militants reportedly need to carry identification documents to indicate if they are fighters and if they are allocated for a certain mission.

Hoping this will deter more foreign fighters from making the trek to Syria and Iraq, but I'm sure the allure of violence and sex slaves is  too strong. Better they're killed over there, I suppose.

More here.

Life Under ISIS Rule In Raqqa- Video Full Report

Here's the full France 24 news report on the 25-year-old woman who traveled back to Raqqa to film what life is like under Islamic State rule. She was born there, and this is the first time she has ever worn a veil.

Life looks like hell there.

Brave woman.

Video- Syrian Woman Films ISIL In Raqqa With Hidden Camera

One brave Syrian woman filmed life in Islamic State infested Raqqa using a hidden camera.

Under ISIS aka ISIL, the women are now forced to wear niqabs. Although some wear it by choice. Towards the end of the video snippet, the woman enters an Internet club filled with French females speaking to their families, and insisting they will never go home.

Raqqa, Syria's First Rebel-Freed City, Now An Islamic Hell

It's sad really, the Syrian revolution started as an effort to bring freedom and democracy to a country run by a nasty dictator, albeit a secular one. But what they have managed to do was replace that nastiness with something far worse.

An article on Al Arabiya talks about what happened to the city of Raqqa in eastern Syria. Initially referred to as the "bride of the revolution," it was the first city to gain freedom from Bashar al-Assad's forces back in March. At the time, the people there were elated. But not so much now that the rebel forces- the likes of the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant (ISIL)-  that took control of the city have turned the place into an Islamic hell.

“At the time we were all happy with the liberation, it was not important who was there. Raqqa was for all Syrians and all those who helped liberate it,” said one of several residents and activists contacted by Reuters via Skype.

[snip]

In the weeks that followed, prisons appeared in public buildings, electricity was cut off and shops were banned from selling tobacco, considered anti-Islamic by the ultra-puritan, masked Islamist fighters who began patrolling the city.

“They also closed the universities saying that because women are also taking lessons there it should be shut,” said a resident whose son is a media activist and is now wanted by the Islamists.

[Snip]

“When Raqqa was liberated we thought now that the regime is out, the era of freedom has begun. People started cleaning the streets. We thought we were living a dream,” said another resident who, like most Raqqa locals, declined to be named for their safety. “It was dream. They killed it.”

Public executions have become commonplace, churches have been burned, and the streets empty out by nightfall since the only buildings that have electricity are the ones the rebels stole.

Many of the activists  have left, blaming the Free Syrian Army for basically handing over the city to the jihadists. One activist, no longer living there, had this to say:

“All the FSA cared for was stealing and accumulating money. From the first day of Raqqa’s liberation they left it to the Islamic State."

I think Syria, at this point, is a lost cause.