Secretive ‘White Shroud’ Group Hunting Down ISIS In Syria, Putting Group On The Defensive
A group called White Shroud is taking on ISIS militants in Syria, hunting down members of the group in a series of guerrilla attacks meant to strike fear.
The group claims to have killed more than 100 ISIS fighters in Syria’s Deir al-Zor province, turning the groups brutal tactics back around on them. White Shroud claims to show no mercy to ISIS fighters they have managed to capture.
The leader of the group, a man who goes by Abu Aboud, claims the group has already been effective against ISIS in the contested province. White Shroud reportedly killed at least 10 ISIS fighters in a nighttime attack in the town of Al Mayadin last week and the guerrilla fighters claim that ISIS members no longer walk alone on the streets of the town.
“The aim of this group — spreading fear among Islamic State members — has been realized,” said Abu Ali Albukamali, a spokesperson for White Shroud. “Today, you never meet them walking alone. They mostly move in groups, afraid of abduction.”
White Shroud members work in secrecy, so much that fellow members may not even know what others are doing. The group works in four-man cells that work independently of each other.
The group takes its name from the death shroud that awaits ISIS members who target innocent civilians.
The region is particularly important to ISIS. Deir al-Zor is an oil-producing area, key to the revenue flow that ISIS needs to continue its conquest of Iraq and Syria. To secure the area ISIS has been particularly brutal, using crucifixions and beheadings and even killing 700 members of a rebellious tribe.
White Shroud is working largely alone in their campaign against ISIS. The al-Qaeda group in the region, the Nursa Front, has already retreated as ISIS advanced and the Syrian government controls only a small portion of Deir al-Zor city.
Though White Shroud has been successful against its ISIS enemies, the group says that U.S. led airstrikes have actually made their job more difficult. ISIS members who once traveled in larger groups — making it easier to attack them — have now split up so as not to be a target for airstrikes.
[Image via Reuters/The Daily Mail]
