‘Shariah police force’

British female recruits are believed to be running a Shariah police force in the ISIS stronghold city of Raqaa. The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR), based in King’s College in London, says Glasgow native Aqsa Mahmood, 20, is believed to be a key figure in the all-female al-Khanssaa brigade. She is linked via internet postings under her username Umm Layth to several other British women, whose identities are unknown but who go by the social media usernames Umm Haritha, Umm Ubaydiah and Umm Waqqas. All are believed to be associated with the about al-Khanssaa brigade, which pays its members about 25,000 Syrian pounds a month, or around $162, to enforce Shariah dress codes and examine people wearing burkhas to make sure that they are women and not enemy fighters in disguise. Another four British women are said to have expressed interest in joining the brigade. ICSR researcher:

Al-Khanssaa is a sharia law police brigade. This is Isil’s female law enforcement. We think it’s a mixture of British and French women but its social media accounts are run by the British and they are written in English … The British women are some of the most zealous in imposing the IS laws in the region. I believe that’s why at least four of them have been chosen to join the women police force.