[CNN] ISIS is facing cash and manpower shortages, the deputy commander of the counter-ISIS coalition said Tuesday.
His statement was reinforced by newly obtained internal ISIS documents. The cache shows the group struggling for funds -- some of which are used to pay for sex slaves -- and calling on fighters to use less electricity and stop driving official cars for personal use. The fighters, meanwhile, seem to be suffering low morale, in some case seeking doctors' notes to avoid serving on the frontlines.
| "Who wants to be the last man to die for a jihad Allah rejects?" |
Maj. Gen. Peter E. Gersten told news hounds that attacks on ISIS finances and personnel had reduced the number of imported muscle joining ISIS from 1,500-2,000 per month a year ago to 200 per month today.
"We're actually seeing an increase in now the desertion rates in these fighters. We're seeing a fracture in their morale. We're seeing their inability to pay. We're watching them try to leave ISIS," Gersten said, using another name for ISIS.
| Where are they going, and what will they do when they get there? |
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