As it nears victory, the SDF has struggled with the dilemma of holding fighters who traveled from abroad to join Islamic State along with women and children. Once an atheist with an affinity for rap music and a dream of moving to America, Mkhayar joined Islamic State at 18. Then he began immersing himself in Islamic State videos on YouTube and speaking to recruiters on Facebook. “WE’RE GETTING OUT”Amid a string of military defeats in eastern Syria, Islamic State leaders were in disarray, killing off rival clerics and commanders known as emirs, Mkhayar said. “This is my belief and I won’t change it, but here in Islamic State, in reality this doesn’t exist … There is no justice,” he said.

Source: Egypt Independent March 10, 2019 07:30 UTC