Islamic State attracts young recruits with free honeymoon, stipend for family

IS executes 20 men in ruins of Syria`s Palmyra: Monitor

The Islamic State jihadist group has executed at least 20 men in the ruins of Syria`s Palmyra, accusing them of fighting for the government, a monitoring group said.

“IS executed 20 men by firing on them in front of a crowd gathered in Palmyra`s Roman theatre, after accusing them of fighting for the Syrian regime,” Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told media.

In Raqqa, a city which is stained with the blood of thousands of innocent soul, an Islamic State fighter narrates how he enjoys a free honeymoon and all the perks that come along with it – a walk by the Euphrates river, delicious food in restaurants, ice-cream treat with his new bride – all thanks to $1500 marriage bonus paid by the ISIS.

Highlighted by a French media, It is the story of an ISIS fighter Abu Bilal al-Homsi, who was an IT professional before he joined the Islamic State,

“It has everything one would want for a wedding,” al-Homsi said of Raqqa — a riverside provincial capital that in the 18 months since IS took control has seen militants beheading opponents and stoning alleged adulteresses in public.

“It is not just fighting,” said al-Homsi, who uses a nom de guerre. “There are institutions.There are civilians (that IS) is in charge of, and wide territories . It must help the immigrants marry. These are the components of a state and it must look after its subjects.” Al-Homsi spoke in a series of interviews with The Associated Press.

According to his interviews given  over three years, he says that he met his Tunisian bride online after she liked his rhetoric views on Islam.The two chatted online for months before the ISIS fighter travelled to Syrian city of Deir al-Zour to ask her brother (already an ISIS fighter) for her hand in marriage.The 24-year-old bride-to-be traveled through Algeria to Turkey, and from there to Raqqa with a group of other women joining IS. They were housed in a guesthouse for women, where the IS women police force also resides.Al-Homsi made the hazardous 150-mile (250-kilometer) journey from Homs to Raqqa to join her, after getting a recommendation from his local commanders.During the few days of their honeymoon, al-Homsi and his bride enjoyed Raqqa’s relative tranquility, riverside promenades and restaurants.Then the couple travelled back to the Homs area, where IS fighters are holding ground against Assad’s forces and rival rebel groups.There, al-Homsi used the money from his grant to prepare a home for his new bride, and four kittens. The couple is now expecting a new baby and hoping for another cash injection, as the group can pay up to $400 as a bonus for each child.For now the group provides a stipend of $50 a month for him and a similar amount for his wife.

He also has an allowance for his uniform and clothes, some household cleaning supplies, and a monthly food basket worth $65.