But in spirit, this red-haired exile from the Islamic State never truly left. Over sips of mint tea, she spoke admiringly of her militant husband and the comrades she met in the Islamic State’s all-female brigade. The family had immigrated to the Islamic State’s eastern al-Khayr province in 2015 thinking that “life might be better there,” she said. “Allah gave the niqab to the women.”Zarah was more candid in describing her initial attraction to the Islamic State. Since the founding of the caliphate, Islamic State leaders have traditionally discouraged women from serving as warriors or suicide bombers.

Source: Washington Post November 26, 2017 22:59 UTC