Yazidi woman freed in daring raid on commander

order, also known as the “jihad al-nikah”, in which jihad fighters have the right to take women, including minors, as captives and marry them for a short time, which might be one day or even a few hours.

The order also gives the jihadists the right to marry more than one woman.

Ibrahim says following this new order, an Islamic State militant “started to vex and harass my daughters and follow them when they went to the bazaar”. He continues: “One day, my elder daughter returned home terrified because a man was following her. After a while, he knocked on the door and asked to marry her, but I refused. Then he threatened to take her compulsorily and assured me that he was legally allowed to do so.” Ibrahim immediately sent his daughters to Baghdad and followed them the next day.

The change for the worse in the status of women has been one of the main developments within territory controlled by to take part in executions, this led to his disillusionment with Islamic State and flight from Fallujah.

Ibrahim paints a fascinating picture of life in Fallujah before he left, showing how even conservative tribal Sunni Arabs are at risk of being denounced for disloyalty or for resisting the diktats of Islamic State.

From an early stage in its resurgence over the past four years, Islamic State has enforced increasingly onerous rules regulating the lives and behaviour of women.

These are often outlandish and far beyond sharia. The Sunni Arabs of western Iraq and eastern Syria are conservative, but women had not previously been compelled to wear the niqab, which covers the whole face.

Islamic State has ruthlessly enforced a regulation that women below a certain age cannot leave their home without being accompanied by a male relative. If they do so and are detected, they are taken back to AMERICANofficials claimed on Sunday that US special forces killed a senior Islamic State commander, captured his wife and freed a Yazidi woman apparently held as a slave, during a daring raid into Syria on Friday night.

The commander, known as Abu Sayyaf, was claimed to have died during a “fairly intense firefight” and hand-to-hand combat that broke out after the US Army Delta Force commandos moved in.

Bernadette Meehan, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said in a their house by Islamic State officials or fighters and their husband or father is given between 40 and 80 lashes.

At first, Islamic State rules were more loosely enforced in order not to alienate local people before the movement gained total control. Many administrative documents issued by Islamic State and collected and translated by Aymenn al-Tamimi now form part of an online archive which gives an invaluable insight into Islamic State workings and beliefs. An early regulation about restrictions on women’s clothing in Tel Abyad in northern Syria, issued in December 2013, spells out what is required.

It says that “there will be a complete ban on unveiling, as well as the wearing of tight trousers and cloaks, and the adorning of oneself and imitation of kafir (disbelieving) women. And any woman who con- statement: “At the President’s direction, US personnel based out of Iraq conducted an operation in al-Amr in eastern Syria to capture an IS senior leader known as Abu Sayyaf and his wife Umm Sayyaf. During the course of the operation, Abu Sayyaf was killed when he engaged US forces.

“Umm Sayyaf was captured and is currently in US military detention in Iraq. The operation also led to the freeing of a young Yazidi woman who appears to have been held as a slave by the couple. We intend to reunite her with her family as travenes this… will expose herself to the severest consequences”.

On the question of whether both eyes and part of the cheek of a woman should be concealed, a fatwa orders that “it is necessary for her to cover her two eyes… with something delicate”. At times Islamic State prurience regarding anything to do with sex beggars belief. For instance, in February, an announcement banned the keeping of pigeons above the roofs of houses with those who continue to do so threatened with fines, imprisonment and flogging. The reason: Pigeons “are harming one’s Muslim and Muslim women neighbours, revealing the genitals (of the pigeons)”.

The world of Islamic State, going by the regulations collected by al-Tamimi, often varies markedly from other human societies because every aspect of religious, soon as feasible.”

Yazidis are regarded by Islamic State as heretics and have been driven from their homes, enslaved and massacred.

Meehan said Abu Sayyaf, a Tunisian, had a senior role in Islamic State’s oil and gas trade – “a key source of revenue that enables the terrorist organisation to carry out their brutal tactics and oppress thousands of innocent civilians” and was also involved in military operations.

“We suspect that Umm Sayyaf is a member of IS, played an important role in social and economic life is determined by its intolerant variant of Islam.

There is a fatwa on the rights and wrongs of ransoming an “apostate” prisoner in exchange for money or as part of a prisoner exchange. Numerous theologians, jurists and figures from Islamic history are quoted to support the ruling.

When schools were reopened in Islamic State-held parts of Aleppo last year, detailed instructions were sent to school heads on how this was to be done. Morning sessions were for girls and afternoons for boys. Subjects no longer to be taught included “drawing and fine art, music, nationalism, French language, history, philosophy and social studies… subjects are to be replaced with the following: aqeeda (creed), Koran, Hadith, Sira (life of Mohamed) fiqh (jurisprudence) and the IS’s terrorist activities, and may have been complicit in the enslavement of the young woman rescued last night,” she said yesterday.

A US-led coalition has been striking Islamic State militants in Syria since last year, but this is only the second time troops have carried out a ground raid.

A previous operation last summer that was aimed at rescuing Americans held by the group, including the journalist James Foley, failed to recover any of the hostages. – The Independent on Sunday name of PE will be replaced by jihadi training”.

Many orders are more mundane and are to do with the orderly running of the new state, including, for example, instructions on setting up kindergartens and the proper regulation of the Cub Scouts.

Prices are set for everything. Certain games such as billiards and table football are allowed, but under strict conditions.

Overall, the impression comes across that Islamic State and the society it wants to create is based on a conviction that its leaders know what is right and wrong in all circumstances. In this society, effectively a cult that believes it has a monopoly of truth and demands total loyalty, it is dangerous to disagree with authority or often fatal to be labelled as an “apostate” or heretic. – The Independent on Sunday