ISIS Giving 'Passports to Heaven' to Its Fighters to Make Them Fearless and Even Welcome Death For Their Twisted Cause
Surrounded by enemies and on the brink of annihilation, the Islamic State (ISIS) has resorted to duping its remaining fighters to fight to the death and volunteer in suicide missions by issuing them "passports to heaven."
With these professionally printed green and gold "passports" in their pockets, the fighters were believed to have been told that they would go straight to heaven where virgins await them as soon as they die protecting ISIS, The Daily Mail reported.
Copies of the "passports" were discovered by Syrian Defence Forces in newly liberated neighborhoods of Raqqa, the ISIS' self-declared capital, photos of which were posted on social media.
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The booklets contain scriptures from the Quran in English and Arabic that encourage the jihadist fighters to carry out suicide attacks using explosive belts or driving bomb-laden cars into crowded locations, The Daily Mail said, citing the Russian TV channel RT Arabic as source.
The texts on the passports also assured their bearers that they will not go to hell upon dying as martyrs but will immediately go to heaven instead.
Written on the cover of the passport were the words, "No God but Allah, Muhammad is the Messenger of God" and "Passport to Paradise."
The new ISIS ploy to boost the morale of its fighters comes at a time when its two remaining bastions—Raqqa in Syria and Mosul in Iraq—continued to slip from its grip.
In Raqqa, CNN was able to obtain a video showing recent scenes from the ISIS' de-facto capital.
The news outlet said the fact that activists were able to film the video shows that ISIS' "reign of terror is coming to an end."
This is because during the height of ISIS power, anyone caught with such material would have been punished severely if not executed. The jihadists punish anyone caught carrying mobile phones with cameras.
The activists who filmed the scenes told CNN that Raqqa's ISIS leadership has fled the city, leaving behind a low-level command structure.
The activists also revealed that Raqqa residents have begun resisting ISIS by not paying their taxes and not using the currency of ISIS.
The BBC was also able to send one of its reporters to the city last week. In his report, the reporter said he saw collapsed buildings hit by airstrikes and retreating ISIS fighters.
The reporter also warned that tens of thousands of people are still trapped inside Raqqa, who could be used as hostages when enemy forces begin their final assault on the city.
