Divides are forming in the so-called Islamic State between Syrian fighters and recruits from other countries.
An estimated 20,000 foreign fighters and supporters have flocked to Syria and Iraq to prop up the militant group and its self-declared caliphate.
But according to the Washington Post, special treatment and better pay for the foreign recruits have made local fighters “resentful.”
Foreign fighters live in cities, where there’s less of a chance of airstrikes from international coalition forces, while Syrian fighters “are required to serve in rural outposts more vulnerable to attacks,” the Post reported, citing a Syrian activist “who opposes the Islamic State.”
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The Wall Street Journal also quoted defectors claiming ISIS is paying foreign fighters $800 a month, but Syrians half that.
“Compounding this resentment that has led to a large increase in defections in recent months is what the Syrian members of Islamic State view as the poor combat performance by foreign fighters, as well as their refusal to serve long stints in the battlefield, as the U.S.-led military coalition pounds the group’s positions from the air,” wrote WSJ‘s Maria Abi-Habib.
Among these 20,000 fighters from roughly 90 countries are dozens who have travelled from Canada.
The International Center for the Study of Radicalization, a United Kingdom-based think tank, called the migration of foreigners to ISIS-held territory “the largest mobilization of foreigner fighters in Muslim majority countries since 1945.”
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But the allure has waned somewhat because of battlefield losses and disagreements over some of the brutal acts carried out by the militants, the Post reported.
“Syrians say the bloodshed is deterring the recruitment of local citizens who were clamoring a few months ago for the opportunity to earn salaries by joining the only new source of employment available,” Liz Sly wrote.
The U.S. government claimed last week more than 8,500 ISIS militants have been killed since the start of international coalition airstrikes last year.
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