Two Indians among 58 who deserted IS battlefields

Two Indians, including a teenage girl, are among at least 58 people who deserted the Islamic State (IS) since January 2014, according to a report compiled by international organisations and shared with Indian security agencies.

Of the 58, majority of the deserters are from Syria at 21 and the rate of desertions has increased since September 2014. Nine from Saudi Arabia and four each from Tunisia and Indonesia also deserted the IS battlefields.

While 10 people left the IS between January and August 2014, 48 left between September 2014 and August 2014. If one takes the figures for 2015 alone, it is 36.
The highest number of desertions was in August this year while July had six desertions.
Areeb Majeed, who is now in Indian jail, and the teenaged Indian girl settled in Qatar are the Indians who deserted the IS.

Majeed, a youth from Maharashtra’s Kalyan, and his three friends were attracted to the IS through social media and made the trip to Syria. However, he returned to India after getting disillusioned and he was made to do menial jobs like cleaning toilets and not allowed combat duty. According to intelligence agencies, the IS does not consider terror recruits from South Asia, including India, and Africa in high regard and give them secondary roles.

The 17-year-old girl, who was indoctrinated by a woman in Qatar, was taken to Turkey and later to Syria. However, she managed to escape from their custody.

According to Indian officials, the reasons for desertions could be making recruits do menial jobs, harassment and ill treatment.

On large numbers of Syrians managing to flee, they said they believe that Syrians managed to flee from the IS stranglehold as they are locals and know how to get out.
The problems faced by recruits from other countries are that the IS destroys their passports as soon as they join and they could not find their way out. “It is a huge risk to flee,” a senior official said.

In the IS, recruits from Iraq, Palestine and Tunisia are the “most trusted” while Europeans are regarded highly.