Report: ISIS Fighters Seeking Fake Doctors' Notes to Get Out of Work
The job might be a bit different, but the Islamic State apparently has HR issues just like anywhere else.
According to a new report by West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center, recovered ISIS documents show the group is suffering from financial pressures amid coalition airstrikes and struggling to keep costs down and retain employees after “reductions in benefits for Islamic State fighters.” From CNN:
The internal directives also call on ISIS fighters to reduce their electricity consumption and to stop driving official vehicles for personal use, a curbing of “perks” [report author Aymenn] al-Tamimi said was indicative of an organization under financial strain.
Documents obtained earlier had shown that ISIS members stationed in Raqqa, Syria, ISIS’ de facto capital, had to undergo a 50% pay cut.
One surprising document suggests that a number of ISIS members have even been trying to get falsified doctor’s notes “in order to avoid frontline duty,” according to Al-Tamimi.
“To the doctor brothers in Wilayat al-Kheir,” reads the memo. “We remind you that the medical report is tantamount to a witness statement and any doctor whose report we discover to be untrue will be held to account.”
Unfortunately, these problems don’t mean the Islamic State is likely to disappear anytime soon: Al-Tamimi concludes that people living in ISIS-ruled areas are accustomed to hardship and “will likely stomach further decreases in quality of life for the time being rather than rebel and risk a brutal crackdown.”