SIGN UP FOR NEW FOREIGN LEGION & DESTROY ISLAMIC STATE

Website makes it easier for volunteers to join Peshmerga

SCOTS with military training are being targeted to join a “foreign legion” fighting against Isis.

The Kurdish Peshmerga have launched a recruitment blitz to form a new international unit to help them destroy the terrorist group.

Posing as someone interested in joining, the Record initially made contact with the International Peshmerga Volunteers via social media.

We were then sent a slick 12-page brochure and an application pack.

The documents contain details of the 12-week curriculum for foreign soldiers arriving in the warzone in Iraq and Syria.

The tide has turned of late in the war against Isis. The terrorists have lost large swathes of territory and more than 1000 of their fighters have surrendered after the latest string of humiliating defeats.

A former senior soldier in the Royal Regiment of Scotland, who wanted to remain anonymous, revealed the draw for many former soldiers to volunteer for the Peshmerga.

He said: “It is like the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War – a lot of serving and ex-military types want to go over to Syria and Iraq to smash these Islamic State fighters on their own patch.

“It’s a case of ‘do it to them before they come to Britain and do it to us’.”

The Peshmerga forces are keen to recruit ex-soldiers, former combat medics and trainers, security staff and men and women who have worked in law enforcement.

Our investigation revealed they have recruited 80 foreign volunteers in three years but now want to step up their recruitment efforts by creating their own “Foreign Legion”.

The brochure refers to their terrorist opponents as “Daesh” – a derogatory term that means to tread underfoot, trample down or crush something.

The document says: “We are a group of men and women who are volunteering with the Peshmerga forces of Kurdistan in an upcoming expedition to help with the humanitarian situation, training needs and anti-terrorism efforts.

“Millions of men, women and children have been affected by the actions of Daesh ‘Islamic State’ and have put our Kurdish allies in a dire situation.

“The efforts of volunteers, coalition support and the will of the people of Kurdistan have managed to counter the threat caused by the Islamic State, resulting in a change from offensive to mostly defensive operational needs.

“There is still work to be done, however, as the threat of Daesh and their affiliate groups still persist.”

The International Peshmerga Volunteers were formed in September 2014. They help western fighters and medics to join the Peshmerga and