ISIS Document Reveals Terror Group's Rules for Raping Women
In an attempt to curtail "violations" in the treatment of female sex slaves, a religious ruling by so-called theologians of the Islamic State specifies when "owners" of enslaved women can have sex with their captives.
The ruling, or fatwa, was discovered among a collection of documents seized by U.S. Special Operations forces during a raid targeting a top official of the terror group in Syria back in May, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
The document states that some IS militants have "committed violations in the matter of the treatment of the female slaves" and details an extensive list of bulleted items regarding the handling of female captives.
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One of the line items stipulates that captors must abstain from sex with pregnant women until after they have given birth. Another indicates that fathers and sons cannot engage in intercourse with each other's female captive, and yet another forbids the owner of two sisters to have intercourse with both women.
The terror group has used the brutalization of women — their capture, forced marriage, and torture as sex slaves — as a tactic to advance its objectives.
As part of its recruitment of IS fighters, the terror group promises man access to women and uses the sale of female captives, and ransom paid by relatives of captives, to raise money to help fund its operations, according to the United Nations. IS also uses the threat of sexual violence against women in order to extricate intelligence.
The terror group suffered a major setback Monday when Iraqi troops retook the city of Ramadi, the most heavily populated city in western Iraq, which had fallen into IS' control in May. The Christian Post reported Monday that victorious Iraqi troops hoisted the country's flag atop a government complex in the city.
The efforts of Iraqi troops have been bolstered by the U.S.-led coalition that has been ramping up airstrikes against IS targets. On Monday, 22 U.S. airstrikes in Iraq were focused near Ramadi and Mosul, striking two oil tanker trucks and seven tactical units, according to Newsweek. U.S. airstrikes have resulted in the deaths of 10 IS leaders in December alone.
This week's victory by Iraqi forces is a significant one in that it could indicate a shift in momentum in the effort to diminish IS' presence in Iraq and possibly erase the terror group's gains in Syria.
IS, an outgrowth of al-Qaeda that practices an Islamic fundamentalist doctrine of Sunni Islam, purposes to establish a worldwide caliphate.
