Rabat - Among the many Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) combatants who have died in Iraq and Syria, Moroccan and Tunisian citizens have been killed more than any other nationality, according to Akhbar al Youm.
Abu Jaled al Yazraui, a director of ISIS, confirmed that these nationalities are the leaders in body count, followed by Chechens and Russians.
The source adds that about 100 Moroccan soldiers have been killed in combat in Iraq and Syria. A large number of Moroccans were killed during ISIS’s battle against the Kurds in the Syrian city of Kobane. Many deaths have been suicides or occurred at the hands of the Iraqi army, rival militias, and the coalition headed by the United States.
Jaled Chakraui, a Moroccan specialist in jihadi groups, told the newspaper that Maghreb fighters that have not taken leadership roles in the organization plan to move up the ISIS ladder and compensate for their “ideological weakness with savagery in battle.”
Chakraui added that ethnic rivalries have a substantial amount of weight in the organization, and that competition to gain notoriety in the group is intense.
According to recent statistics, more than 1,300 Moroccans are fighting in the ranks of terrorist groups in areas of tension such as Syria, where 246 have been killed, and Iraq, where another 40 have been killed.
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