Interesting inside inside look (i take it we're all adult enough not to need source/bias warnings).
FSA 'CLOSING IN' ON MANBIJ AS ISLAMIC STATE IN RETREAT
Q: Can you tell us about the Muhajireen [what they call non-Syrian fighters] and theAnsar [Syrian fighters] of IS in Manbij? Who are they?
There are many foreign fighters in Manbij; they call the city Little London because of so many British fighters. There is also a large number of Chechens, Russians, Germans, French, Moroccans and Egyptians.
The other members are residents of the city that have pledged allegiance to IS, whether in a military capacity or for other services. You can’t distinguish the
Ansar from the
Muhajirin now, as they all speak formal Arabic.
The
Ansar are a mixture of three groups:
The first group are those who oppose the Free Syrian Army and the [affiliated] Revolutionary Council. These people did not initially participate in the revolution. Later, they wanted to join the revolution so they joined IS; we call them profiteers. There are only a few, and they are well-known to us, like Mohammed al-Basher, a leader in IS. He was a member of the Revolutionary Council [FSA], but we dismiss him as we know that he did not give any effort to the revolution.
The second group are the mercenaries: people who joined IS because of a lack of money and the high taxes IS levies on civilians. IS enforced laws that make life more difficult for people, causing unemployment amongst them. Afterwards, they had no option except joining IS.
The third group are those who seek power and dominance, such as tribal leaders and the strict religious men. They are already rich, but they welcomed IS from the beginning. Before the revolution most of them were in the Syrian Parliament. Some young men joined IS to have more sway in their families.