You Won’t Believe What ISIS Fighters Are Doing to Get Out of Jihad Duty

By Jacob Bojesson

Islamic State is struggling to motivate its fighters to carry out jihad after the terrorist group cut wages in half.

ISIS’s income has dropped 30 percent over the past year, as the organization continues to lose territory. This has forced the organization to cut wages in half, which naturally led to a drop in motivation among the fighters.

Fighters are now pretending to be sick to avoid frontline duty, according to documents obtained by the Center for Combating Terrorism (CTC).

“Issued in Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria, the document indicates that a number of Islamic State members had been seeking false medical reports from doctors in order to avoid frontline duty,” the documents reveal.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claims ISIS has executed 21 of its own commanders and security members in April, as well as dozens of defectors.

ISIS is suffering financially from reduced border access to Turkey, tougher border policies and coalition airstrikes. Recent strikes have targeted ISIS’s “cash storage” and the oil industry, according to CTC.

Follow Jacob on Twitter