[BusinessInsider] Their identities are secret. They work after sundown, preferring deserted areas of the city. No one knows where they will strike next. They target different neighborhoods each time.Their mission is simple: to kill Islamic State (IS) militants.
| A very good mission. |
They are Mosul's vigilante brigades, shadowy groups of civilians-turned-armed-assassins who risk their own lives to kill IS gunmen -- as well as those who support them.
IS has done its best to eliminate these assassins, tracking down and killing as many of them as it can. But local people in Mosul say these anonymous resistance fighters have had an impact, that IS has covered up the killings and changed how its gunmen operate in Mosul.
Hiding behind beards
"Do you know why IS ordered all men [in Mosul] to grow their beards?" the young man asks with a laugh. "It's because they don't want to be recognized."
The young man says he is part of an anti-IS group called the Brigades of Mosul that assassinates IS militants. He tells RFE/RL's correspondent in Mosul that his group has taken out IS gunmen using sniper rifles. Since then, the militants have tried to disguise themselves so they blend in with the public, the young man claims.
The young man, who refuses to give his name, says he and his friends have also planted bombs in Mosul to target IS vehicles. Because of the attacks, IS militants now drive unmarked cars so they are not so visible, he claims.
Resistance is not futile?
Armed anti-IS groups are not a new phenomenon in Mosul, according to RFE/RL's correspondent in the Iraqi city.
They sprang up almost as soon as the militants overran the city last summer. Their names -- the Brigades of Mosul, the Revenge of Nineveh, the Lions of Nineveh, the Brigades for the Liberation of Mosul -- are testament to their members' pride and intense desire to retaliate against IS.
Some of the groups are no longer operating. In some cases, IS tracked down and killed their fighters. Some say they had to disband when they got no support from the Iraqi government in Baghdad.