US military trains eclectic group of anti-IS fighters
The U.S. military is trying to turn an eclectic group of Kurdish women and Arab men into a coherent and competent force to defeat the Islamic State.
Advisers describe many of the fighters as civilians who see the battle as a personal moral imperative. Many of the fighters see the extremist group as a scourge on their country and a threat to their families. One called the Islamic State "darkness," while another called it an "illness."
The U.S. advisers say the number of Arab volunteers surged this spring, following a series of battlefield gains against the Islamic State, including the retaking of al-Shaddadeh in Syria's Hassakeh province. That success triggered a recruiting boom, the officials say, with more local Arabs seeking to join than could be accommodated.
