Male, 26, single, quite well-educated but not an expert on the Quran — this is the profile of an average fighter joining ISIS.
Analysis of thousands of entry documents leaked from the terrorist group has provided vital new insight into the background and expertise of its international jehadis. The US military’s Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) said all evidence pointed to the cache being genuine, exposing personal details of 4,188 militants who joined ISIS in 2013 and 2014.
“The importance of this data for understanding the ISIS and, in particular, the foreign fighter flow, cannot be overstated,” analysts said, hailing an important step in fathoming the group’s motivations and techniques. A unique personnel form exists for each individual, containing their real and “war” names, ages, education level, “jehad experience”, nationalities and numerous other details.
Each recruit was also asked whether they wanted to be a fighter, istishhadi (suicide bomber), or inghimasi (suicide fighter), with the overwhelming majority choosing the former.