Iraqi volunteers ill-prepared to fight IS
Volunteer fighters are signing up en masse to join the "righteous jihad" against the Islamic State in the name of nationalism and economic opportunity.
A popular mobilization is occurring in Iraq in response to the “righteous jihad” fatwa issued three days after the Islamic State (IS) occupied Mosul on July 10.
Saad Hamid is among the 200 individuals who volunteered to help the Iraqi army stop the IS advance. Enlisted in a one-month training program in al-Kafal village, south of Babylon, he was being trained to use weapons and in combat techniques before he was expected to join his peers on the battlefield.
Hamid enthusiastically relayed his impressions to Al-Monitor. He said that he was ready to fight IS and defend the country in response to the call to jihad. There are other reasons behind his haste to volunteer, however, including unemployment and difficult financial straits.
He told Al-Monitor, “I am reassured because I am receiving a fixed monthly salary to provide for my family, which includes my mother and three siblings.”
