Rogue Assassins Use ISIS’ Tactics to Kill ISIS Itself

Amongst the terror building in the streets of Iraq and Syria, one organization use using the tactics of terror for good in their fight against ISIS.

Their identities are secret. They work after sundown, preferring deserted areas of the city. No one knows where they will strike next. They target different neighborhoods each time.

Their mission is simple: to kill Islamic State militants.

Their targets never vary, but their methods do. Sometimes they use snipers to take out a militant. Sometimes they plant roadside bombs and blow up cars. Sometimes they stab their victims, sometimes strangle them.

They are Mosul’s vigilante brigades, shadowy groups of civilians turned armed assassins who risk their lives to kill Islamic State gunmen — as well as those who support them.

The Islamic State, also known as IS or ISIS, has done its best to eliminate these assassins, tracking down and killing as many of them as it can. But local people in Mosul say these anonymous resistance fighters have had an impact, that ISIS has covered up the killings and changed how its gunmen operate in Mosul.

Hiding behind beards
“Do you know why IS ordered all men [in Mosul] to grow their beards?” the young man asks with a laugh. “It’s because they don’t want to be recognized.”

The young man says he is part of an anti-ISIS group called the Brigades of Mosul that assassinates ISIS militants. He tells RFE/RL’s correspondent in Mosul that his group has taken out ISIS gunmen using sniper rifles. Since then, the militants have tried to disguise themselves so they blend in with the public, the young man says.

ISIS has reportedly ordered all men in Mosul to grow beards.

The young man, who refuses to give his name, says he and his friends have also planted bombs in Mosul to target ISIS vehicles. Because of the attacks, ISIS militants now drive unmarked cars so they are not so visible, he says.

Resistance is not futile?
Armed anti-ISIS groups are not a new phenomenon in Mosul, according to RFE/RL’s correspondent in the Iraqi city.

They sprang up almost as soon as the militants overran the city last summer. Their names — the Brigades of Mosul, the Revenge of Nineveh, the Lions of Nineveh, the Brigades for the Liberation of Mosul — are testament to their members’ pride and intense desire to retaliate against ISIS.

Some of the groups are no longer operating. In some cases, ISIS tracked down and killed their fighters. Some say they had to disband when they got no support from the Iraqi government in Baghdad.

An enemy of ISIS is, at least for the time being, a friend of the western world. As such, these men may be key to defeating ISIS at home, from the ground.

Source: Business Insider