NEW YORK: US intelligence and law enforcement agencies have identified nearly a dozen Americans who have travelled to Syria to fight for the Islamic State (formerly called ISIS), the militant group that poses the greatest threat to the United States since Al Qaeda before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to CBS news and several other news outlets.

As Islamic State has seized large expan­ses of territory in recent months, it has drawn more foreign men to Syria, requiring more US and European law-enforcement resources in the attempt to stop the flow of fighters, senior US officials said.

As a result of the increasing numbers of men, Islamic State is recruiting foreign women as jihadi wives. It has become more attractive to would-be militants because, unlike Al Qaeda, it has seized territory that it rules by strict Islamic law. “ISIS is able to hold itself up as the true jihad,” a senior US official said. “They’re saying: ‘Look at what we are doing, what we’re accomplishing. We’re the new face. We’re not just talking about it. We’re doing it.”

Islamic State’s attraction to some is based on its reputation for brutality. On Thursday, that reputation grew worse when it was revealed that it had waterboarded four hostages early in their captivity — including US journalist James Foley, who was beheaded this month. Overall, US intelligence officials said the number of Americans who had joined rebel groups in Syria — not just Islamic State — had nearly doubled since January. The officials now believe that more than 100 Americans have fought alongside groups there since the civil war began.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2014