The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS, has taken in over 6,000 new fighters in the month of July alone, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said in a statement today. Most of the new fighters, roughly 5,000, are Syrians, while others coming from all over the world. They joined the group at its training camps in Syria's northern provinces of al-Raqqa and Aleppo. "The number of ISIS fighters has now passed 50,000, including 20,000 non-Syrians," the groups director, Rami Abdel Rahman said. This is alarming considering that it is near to the Australian armed forces strength of 56,552 active soldiers.


ISIS paying US$800/mth salary, fighter strength nearing Australian army

The Observatory added that the militant group pays its fighters as follows: A Syrian single receives around US$400 a month, while a married one receives that amount plus their spouse and kids also get paid. Fighters from other countries receive about US$800 monthly. On Tuesday, ISIS released a video purported to show the cold-blooded execution of American journalist James Foley as retribution for U.S. airstrikes in Iraq. Since Aug. 8, the U.S. military has struck more than 70 ISIS targets — including security checkpoints, vehicles and weapons caches. It's not clear how many militants have been killed in the strikes.


> http://www.bulletin247.com/english-news/sh...e-in-july-alone
> http://www.thehindu.com/news/international...icle6333733.ece
> http://www.abplive.in/World/2014/08/20/art...st#.U_V7IKMfMXg
> http://jpupdates.com/2014/08/19/report-600...oin-past-month/