Dozens of fighters tasked with carrying out suicide attacks by the Islamic State (IS) jihadi organisation have been reported to be fleeing to join rival militias.
This rebellion within the IS's "martyrs battalion" is believed to have severely strained the terrorist organisation, which recruits foreign fighters for suicide operations, the Daily Mail reported Monday, citing sources from the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto IS capital.
"There is great tension in Raqqa city, where the IS group suffered many defections in the past few days. A source from within IS has confirmed that most of defections are from suicide bombers... these defections are considered a painful blow to the group," said Abu Mohammed of the Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently (RIBSS) activist group.
He claimed that anyone caught deserting their position faced summary execution, adding that the constant aerial bombardment and fierce fighting in Kobane, a strategic town on the Syria-Turkey border, made many foreign fighters and members of suicide units desert the IS.
A source told RIBSS that the IS was known to have set up roadblocks and imposed strict security checks to stop potential suicide bombers from abandoning their missions.
IS leaders select foreign jihadis for suicide missions because they usually arrive in Syria with little or no battlefield experience and therefore have no military value.
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According to an IS insider, who fled the group, special training camps have been set up in Syria to filter out foreigners with no military experience and prepare them for suicide operations.
A security source working with British Muslim communities on combating extremism told Daily Mail of a number of British fighters who had been unprepared for the reality of Syria.
"The problem is that young British Muslims who go to Syria thinking they will be treated like equal brothers by IS find out very quickly that they are being told to strap on suicide vests and prepare for jannat (heaven)... it's hardly surprising that they have cold feet about these missions," he explained.