THIS PROGRAMM FEATURES IMAGES THAT VIEWERS MAY FIND DISTURBING
THE “ISLAMIC STATE” IS THE WORLD’S LARGEST TERROR ORGANIZATION. AT ITS PEAK, IT
CONTROLLED 8 MILLION PEOPLE IN IRAQ AND SYRIA FROM ITS DEFACTO CAPITAL, RAQQA.
AFTER 5 YEARS OF WAR, RAQQA IS NOW ENCIRCLED BY THE SYRIAN DEMOCRATIC FORCES
(COMPOSED OF KURDISH AND ARAB FACTIONS), AIDED BY THE INTERNATIONAL COALITION.
ON THE EAST SIDE, THE ROAD TO RAQQA PASSES BY: A FIELD HOSPITAL
THE WOMEN’S PROTECTION UNITS BASE THE FOREIGN VOLUNTEERS POINT.
[Sema, YPJ commander] We'll come back as soon as we've fixed the bridge.
[Sema]We're now in a district of Raqqa. Raqqa is the capital
of ISIS. This is where they gather before spreading out.
[Sema]We must liberate Raqqa because if we
don't, it will pose a grave threat to all people.
THE ROAD TO RAQQA
[Sema]There's an ISIS member. He's with ISIS.
[Sema]There are many ISIS around here. Some surrender. It's mostly new recruits who haven't become full-fledged ISIS
members yet. When they see us fight, witness our strength, they surrender. They know it's their only chance.
[GEO]5 KM TO THE FRONTLINE
[Sema]Raqqa is the centre for slaughtering women. Thousands have been kidnapped, raped and slaughtered.
[Sema]They were forced to 'marry' dozens of ISIS men.
[COMRADE SEMA COMMANDER, WOMEN’S PROTECTION UNITS (YPJ)] Those who
wouldn't agree were beheaded. Once, we rescued a woman from ISIS captivity.
[Sema]She said, 'After ISIS entered our village, they made my
husband disappear.' 'Then they just wanted to rape me.
[Sema]'They put a knife to my children's throats, and said they'd behead
them if I didn't do what they wanted.' She said, 'I had no choice.'
[Sema]This is a huge sorrow for me because I am a woman myself. This is the
source of my resentment and hatred. I'm nurturing my desire for vengeance.
[Tractor driver]Look. Even if an armoured vehicle
crosses, it'll be fine. I placed two rocks there. It's wider now.
[Sema]And there?
[Tractor driver]If we find more large rocks, we'll place them so even
a tractor could cross. I'll finish this, then we can do some work.
[Sema]Well, what happens in childhood? It's all about differentiating and separating.
[Sema]Parents buy their sons toy guns, toy planes, toy cars and such
stuff. But what do they buy their daughters? They buy them dolls.
[Sema]I remember questioning my father: 'Why do you
buy toy cars for my brothers but not for me?' At age
14-15, my questions became deeper. I began to ask why men served in the army and women couldn't.
[Sema]After the People's Protection Units (YPG) were created, a women's branch was formed, the YPJ.
[Sema]It was greeted with fervour as a sign of great change for our people.
[Sema]Hey, he's dragging the cable!
[Sema]One day, I told my father I’d decided to join the YPJ.
[Sema]He said, 'It's your choice: get married or join the YPJ.' I said, 'Joining
the army is my childhood dream.' So I left, joined up and never returned home.
[Sema]Comrade Hauer, about the bridge… It's partially collapsed on the Raqqa side.
[Voice]No way?
[Sema]It's true. Bring some pipes to reinforce
and widen it so comrades can cross.
[Voice]Roger.
[Sema]Don't shift the blame onto the comrades! Move the car away.
[Tractor driver]Comrade, I know that you were close. I saw him drive up and stopped to let him pass.
[Sema]Do we have power yet?
[Voice]Yes, the generator's already on.
[GEO]WOMEN'S PROTECTION UNITS BASE 50m FROM THE ROAD TO RAQQA
[Woman]I didn't catch it and still got wet!
[Rosa, Swedish volunteer]A lot of women back in Europe, they don't even think about women's rights. All they think about is
doing their hair up, their makeup and being pretty. You know, they don't care about how other women suffer, especially in here.
[COMRADE ROSE YPJ VOLUNTEER FROM SWEDEN]So being a part of YPJ, I'm really proud, you
know. Trying to fight for women's rights here, in the Middle East, which is really needed.
[Woman]Cover it from the outside, closer to the wall.
[Rosa]All together I've been here about 2 years. In Sweden, I wasn't doing that
much. Kind of felt like I was wasting my time. I wasn't happy. Just working and
going home. I was reading a lot about what was happening here, about what ISIS
was doing. So when I saw this, what the people were doing here, what they were
fighting for, I was like, I want to do that too. Why should I stay home? I can
fight. Especially when I saw the YPJ, the women. I was impressed. It's a pretty
uncommon thing to see women fighting, especially on the first front line. You
know, they're snipers, sabotage, they're shooting DSHKs, they do everything.
[Voice] How long did it take you to decide to come?
[Rosa] 5 minutes. Pretty much.
[Rosa]I sent them a message on internet, saying I wanted to join. After a few days, they answered back and said "pack
your bag”. I was really happy. So for about 5-6 months I was cleaning factories to save up for the plane ticket.
[Rosa] First, I kind of tested to tell my family and they said, "no, you're not
going". So I just told them, "no, I'm not going". After 5-6 months I just disappeared.
[Rosa]I told them when I arrived. They were a bit angry. They were also relieved I was OK.
[Rosa]When I told them I joined the (People’s Protection Units) YPG,
they didn't know what YPG was. They were like, "Thank god it's not ISIS".
[Rojbin] Can I come with you? [Sema] She wants to go with the assault team.
[Rojbin] I'll hang back, I swear.
[Fighter] Maybe we can hide you in a bag. [Sema] No way!
[Rojbin] Hey! Don't say that, we'd almost agreed. Don't fan the flames.
[Sema] Comrade Buran, shall we send Rojbin to the front? [Rojbin] Just once, please?
[Fighter] Better to go together next time.
[Sema]They all want to convince me to let them go to the front.
[Jinda] When I was a driver, they wouldn't take me anywhere either.
[Sema] And you begged to go to the frontline?
[Jinda] Of course!
[Rojbin]Thank you!
[Sema]Recently in Raqqa I lost two female comrades, whom I personally had trained.
[Sema]Despite that, no one's taken a step back.
“CHEKO, THE MARTYR’S GROUP”
[Sema]Afterwards, on the very same day they died, their comrades insisted on taking part
in an attack. If we are weakened by our losses, then our enemy would get stronger.
[Sema]There is no revolution without sacrifice.
[Sema]This is not only an armed war. It's a war of ideologies, of mentalities.
[Sema]We're not fighting for a certain nation. Humanity is what we're fighting for.
[GEO]FIELD HOSPITAL ON THE ROAD TO RAQQA
[Suleiman]Who destroyed the bridge? [Military]ISIS, to stop our advance.
[Military]The best part was their attack on our post. [Suleiman]The medical post?
[Military]No, the command and press post. They attacked at 5am. [Suleiman] No way!
[Military] We were here and they were there,same distance as to that water
tank. I run out of ammo, so I ask a soldier for some. Then I raise my head
and see an ISIS suicide bomber in front of me. He shouts, 'Allahu Akbar!'
and was about to blow himself up, when my comrade shot him in the neck.
[Military]I’m shooting and retreating, shooting and retreating until I reach the APC.
[Military]Then a second one shows up. He runs towards us, jumps... and blows himself up in mid-air.
[Woman 1]How will you drive like that, my precious? [Woman 2] It's fine.
[Woman 2]When can I take the bandage off? [Doctor]In two days. I can't see any sign of a fracture.
[Woman 2]Hey, don't be scared! I didn't even flinch. [Woman 1]I know!
[Doctor]Has it been X-rayed? [Woman 1]No. [Doctor]Wiggle your
toes. It's nothing to worry about. Healing takes time.
[Woman]Let's go. Thank you.
[Doctor]We didn't have too many casualties in the surrounding villages
from the start of the war until we reached the outskirts of Raqqa.
[Doctor]However, now that we're closing in, ISIS has strengthened its
defences. The number of booby traps and bombs in houses has increased.
[Doctor]I'm the only doctor here, the others are mostly nurses.
[DR. AKIF FRONTLINE DOCTOR]It's a sacred calling that supports our revolutionary movement.
[Doctor]I've served in medical and military units with the Syrian Democratic Forces and the YPG for 6-7 years.
[Voice]Did you finish your studies? [Doctor] No, I studied the final 2 years at war.
[Injured]Should I stay here? [Doctor] No, come sit there.
[Injured]Comrade, it hurts here!
[Doctor]Comrade, why are you pulling it?
[Doctor]Gently does it.
[Injured]Easy, easy, doctor.
[Injured]Oh, mother!
[Injured]Is that it?
[Doctor]Yes, there was nothing to worry about.
[Injured]I'm alive, I'm alive!
[Adham, nurse]This moment is long overdue.
[Adham]We've waited several years to finally reach Raqqa.
[Adham]Terror now reigns in Syria.
[Adham]Every day there's blood. Every day there's death.
[Adham]Every day people are wounded.
[Adham]Every day people leave the country in search of a better life, but can't find their place anywhere.
[Adham]Every day I wake up and start work. Sometimes I don't sleep if they bring lots of wounded.
[ADHAM FRONTLINE NURSE]If we can treat them here, at the field hospital, we do.
[Adham]If not, we send them to bigger hospitals where they continue their treatment.
[Adham]Some have lost limbs, some have head or chest wounds. Most injuries are
caused by shelling, or grenades dropped by ISIS drones. That's most common.
[Man]That area was supposed to be liberated but we were shot at from all sides! Everything literally fell on our heads!
[Nurse]Give me that…
[Adham]One of my brothers was killed 2.5 months ago in clashes with ISIS.
[Adham]We weren't just brothers, we were very close friends.
[Adham]It was such a huge blow for me. That's when I
felt a strong urge to fight on the frontline.
[Nurse]He'll be fine, God willing. [Man]I don't know how that's possible.
[Man] Comrade, you can't do that. I don't know where you're
taking him! [Nurse]To the hospital, he needs a blood transfusion.
[Nurse]Get out, you've got dirt everywhere.
[Nurse]He needs to go to hospital ASAP.
[Nurse]You can't accompany him.
[Adham]I was in Aleppo, fighting ISIS. Someone tipped them off about me.
They captured me and took me to jail. Every 2-3 days they'd torture and
interrogate me. They'd ask, 'Did you fight against the Islamic State?'
[Adham]I denied it. They hammered nails through my hands into the wall.
[Adham]They'd suspend me like this.
[Adham]I denied everything.
[Adham]After a while, the negotiations started and I was released with a group of prisoners. There
were YPG members, civilians, Free Syrian Army soldiers, soldiers from government forces, too.
[Adham]After we got out I was in shock for 2-3
months. I'd wake up at night screaming, 'Don't kill me, don't
torture me!' because a few times they made me wear
execution overalls, pointed a gun at me and pulled the trigger.
[Adham]When I think about it I start to sob uncontrollably, I don't know why. Perhaps
thinking about the torture we went through. Maybe there's some other reason. I don't know.
[Adham]Wait a minute. What? Many? Are there many?
[Soldier]More wounded have arrived!
[Suleiman]Here, guys! What's wrong with you? Where are those who carry the wounded?
[Soldier]Where do we put him? Come on, Mazen.
[Mazen]What's happened? I don't understand...
[Soldier]Comrade Akif!
[Soldier] Doctor! Akif!
[Adham] Get me the blue drip. [Suleiman]Blue drip, guys!
[Adham] Plaster, saline. [Suleiman]Plaster and saline, guys!
[Doctor]Comrades, this man is badly wounded.
[Doctor]Give me the stethoscope!
[Doctor]One of you quickly bandage his head.
[Doctor]I need a hand, his brain is falling out.
[Doctor]Keep ventilating the lungs.
[Doctor] Can he breathe on his own? - No, he's dying.
[Nurse] No pulse. [Doctor] No pulse?
[Doctor]Guys, bring the stretcher. Get him into the car.
[Nurse]The stretcher is in that car.
[Doctor]Hold his head.
[Doctor]Ok, get out. If he dies, this is his name. If he lives, give it to Walid in Hasakah.
[Adham] It pains me when I can't help someone who's dying in front of me.
[Adham] It happens a lot in Raqqa. In a month, I've seen 40 to 50 people die.
[Adham] I wish we could become one nation again... That we could try to forget this war. We're the
only generation who will never say, 'I wish
we could go back to the days of our youth.'
[GEO]FOREIGN VOLUNTEER BASE 100m FROM THE ROAD TO RAQQA
[Soldier]It has like hole marks.
[Robin] It's great man, and it's not even heavy. Awesome.
[Robin] You want to go? [Soldier]Alright, guys. Take care. See you guys probably tomorrow. Be safe tonight.
[Robin]Еvery time a terrorist attack happens, all these people are out there,
screaming, "ISIS is so bad, someone needs to do something against them!"
[VO]“Someone needs to do something against them.” And for me, it was like,
yeah, why don't we do something against them because it's our problem.
[VO]“Islamic State claims it was behind the Manchester terror attack.”
[VO] “Our top story tonight, real bad news coming from Bangladesh.”
[VO] “In the North of France they killed a priest by cutting his throat.”
[VO] “…bombed a Russian airliner in the Sinai desert, killing 244.”
ISIS is acting nearly in every country.
[Robin]And it's like people are paying attention for 1 day, 2 days, and then
acting as if everything would be normal. And yeah, that's not, that's not right.
COMRADE ROBIN YPG VOLUNTEER FROM GERMANY
[Robin]I have 10 years of military experience. I was trained as a professional sniper.
[Robin]I think this is the first time in 2 weeks I can wash my clothes. Wow. The water’s already dirty.
[Robin]The first ISIS video I saw… of kids, maybe 10, 12, 13 years old and they
were trying to uh, to train how to shoot in a house, and it was so cruel,
because they used humans as targets. Living humans as targets. And that
was the moment when I realized, this is really, really bad, actually.
[Archiv]We will kill you, unbeliever, we'll slaughter you, God willing.
[COMRADE AGIT YPG VOLUNTEER FROM BRITAIN]Did you see what is possibly the remains of a Daesh fighter
over there? It’s a femur with underwear around it. Uh, most of the femur and most of his skull.
[Agit] Thing is, that was in Daesh territory for god knows how long. And they
just left him out to rot and get eaten by the wildlife. But YPJ and YPG negotiate
for corpses. Like the British guy that killed the other night, they’re negotiating
whether to repatriate him or bury him here, depending what his family wants.
[Shea] Which guy that got killed?
[Agit] Ah, you know, the British guy that we met...
[Shea] Oh, you mean him, the American and the Dutch guy? [Agit] Yeah.
[Robin] I didn't know whether we should try to message his family and stuff, tell
them that we saw him the night he died and he was happy... [Shea] They were happy.
[Robin] They were actually funny guys.
[Robin]I cried a few days ago when I saw someone on our team, actually, having both of his feet from the knees
down just got blown off. And I was like, OK, I
cannot live with this. I cannot live in a wheelchair.
[Robin]I told my 2 friends, they're combat medics, “if you guys see me stepping on a mine and I lost
my legs, just give me painkillers, give me ketamine, no tourniquets, just let me die happy”.
[COMRADE SHEA YPG VOLUNTEER FROM SWEDEN] 2 days ago when I met the
guy that survived... I started stuttering, "You! You're fucking
alive!" Felt my swell up with water a bit, but I was so fucking
happy to see that someone we treated did not die, oh, thank god.
[Robin]At one point I found this book in Germany at a train station. And it said something like "ah, this guy joined YPG".
[Robin]And I was like - YPG, OK, I have to Google that when I get back home. And I tried to apply and it worked out.
[Robin]The only one I told was my girlfriend and she was like, “Either you go to Syria or you stay
with me. But if you leave, you leave me too.” And I said, “Yeah, OK. I have to do this.”
[Robin]Why?.. I think sometimes in life you have to figure out what your purpose
is. I had a very comfortable life
for a long time. I enjoyed that, but
uh for me, there always was this
big hole inside. And whatever I did, it
was always there. And since I'm
here, it's gone. It's completely gone.
[Shea] Oh goodie, you point it at me.
[Agit] There's nothing in it, you've just seen me check it! [Shea] There's a cigarette butt in the barrel! Smoking kills.
[Agit] Yeah, that was Bruce's cure for PTSD - smoke
tons of weed. [Shea] The stories that he told, I do understand
why that would, you know… Even the stuff that happened to
us, you know, we came that close to die. [Agit] We were like,
technically surrounded and shit. [Shea] And I actually
don't worry about it. I actually don't. But the one thing that
did actually worry me was my kids. Because when I left, my
girlfriend, she gave me the photo albums and 3 letters for me.
[Shea] On the first one it said, "to read before you get on the plane",
the second one "to read on the plane" and the third "when you get there".
[Shea] And the first letter said that, "if you're reading this before you board the plane,
if you turn around right now, nobody's going to be mad at you, everything will be the same".
[Shea] Second letter said, basically the same thing, "now you're on a plane..." [Robin] If you wanted to fly back, yeah.
[Shea] …but if you decide to come back.
[Shea] The third letter, uh, was "OK, you finally arrived, and just so you
know, while I'm writing this letter, you're playing with our daughter in the
kitchen and I can hear you saying to her, “mamma is not the law… I am the law".
[Robin] Ahaha, nice! [Shea] But she looked at me, did a “pft” and ran away.
[Shea] After the attack, that was when I really missed my kids, really, really did.
[Robin] Yeah, sure. Sure. Aw, thanks! Jackass…
[Agit] Just be glad it’s not one of the maggots I found crawling on me earlier.
[Shea] You want me to shnipe him?
[Robin] When I tried to leave, police was showing up at my house, and they told me that, “yeah, OK, fighting with the YPG is
[Robin] OK, but be prepared - we will not help you in any kind of way”. And I was like, OK, I can live with that, no problem.
[Robin] But some things changed in the last few months.
[Robin] I know 4 guys in Germany being sent to prison for murder, for killing ISIS guys, Daesh.
[Robin] A few days after I arrived in Syria, my mom told me, "oh, police is looking for you".
[Robin] So I asked some friends in the police and they were saying to me, "yeah, you're on a terrorist list now".
[Robin] The whole world is watching, um, terrorist attacks everywhere and there are a few people who actually come here
and fight… and the thought of punishing people when they go back home – that makes me really pissed, actually.
[Robin] So no, there's no chance I would go back to Germany right now. And probably not even in the next 5 to 10 years.
[Robin] Have you guys ever wondered what happens when people from ISIS return home?
Shea: Oh, you mean, "you want some money?" [Agit] Yeah. Shea: "Oh, you need a house"? Yeah, sure, go ahead.
[Agit] It’s cool, we'll just put you on bail and you fucking go home and kill people in the fucking street.
[Shea] Our constitution [in Sweden] says that it's not illegal to be a member of Daesh because it's...
[Robin]What, are you f*** kidding me?
[Shea] No, I'm not kidding, no... No, it's not illegal. Because “you
have the freedom to be a part of any organization that you want”.
[Robin] What the f***.
[Shea] I'm a big advocate for freedom of speech and all that. The laws that we
do have, they work, they just need to be changed, just a little bit. And I don’t
understand the idea of “oh, we’re completely fine with people raping children and
blowing people’s heads off and drowning them in cages and keeping sex slaves”…
[Robin] And what about the fact that they can go back, it's OK, it's OK... [Agit] But
half of us can't. [Robin] I mean, in Germany they get arrested, but I get arrested also!
[Agit] In the UK a couple maybe they hold on terror charges, but most of them
they just fucking bail out. Like, yeah, maybe there are one or two that did come
in in maybe like the early stages, uh before it became obvious exactly what Daesh
was about, but anybody who came post-2014, they can’t really claim that at all.
[Agit] Uh, so, you know, it’s not like they’re just going to back now and be like,
“oh, that’s done with now”. Everyone that comes back is going to be a threat.
[GEO]AIN ISSA REFUGEE CAMP
[Nour al-Ghada, ISIS wife]If a person's made a mistake, you should forgive them. Anyone can make a mistake.
[Nour]I quit ISIS. That's the most important thing I've done in my life.
[Nour]I left to go to my home country. If I go to prison, I'll accept
it. It's better than staying with infidels who don't fear Allah.
[NOOR WIFE OF ISIS MILITANT FROM LEBANON]I was married to a Lebanese man. He joined
a Salafi group. My husband went to Syria without telling me. That was in 2015.
[Nour]He told me to join him. I said, 'How could I?
[Nour]They say ISIS torture and kill people.' He said, 'No,
it’s not like that. Don't you know there's always a
war against Muslims! So don't believe such things.'
[Nour]So I got all the necessary documents in secret from my relatives, got a passport, bought a ticket and left.
[Nour]At first, I thought my husband was right to love ISIS. But
after he was killed, I began to reflect and review my position.
[Nour]We were taken to Raqqa. They treated us like animals after my husband
died. Every day someone came saying this one or that wanted to marry me.
[Nour]Later I married a Tunisian.
[Nour]He didn't fight because he was wounded. He was supposed
to have physiotherapy, but he didn't so his arm wouldn't
heal and he wouldn’t have to fight. He said he wouldn't let me live in the so-called 'Islamic' state, which was set
up to serve its leaders' interests. Many ISIS fighters
dream of quitting but there's no way out. Those who wanted
to go back to their countries, they'd call 'renegades'. If
they were caught, only Allah knows what ISIS did to them.
[Nour]Because of their disregard for us, my husband and I
stole their cars. We collected enough money to run away.
[Nour]I wish life in an Islamic state would be the same as in the 6th century, in the time of the Prophet.
[Nour]When we heard ‘Islamic State’, we said ‘God bless’, a
state based on Islam, on religion… But when you go there you
start hating everything. Sharia law shouldn't be like in
ISIS. They cut off a thief's hand, regardless of his situation.
[Nour]The Quran says a thief should have his hand cut off, but it depends on what he stole.
[Nour] But ISIS don't bother with the details. Steal anything and your hand's chopped off and that's it!
[Archive]Yes. We cut off a thief's hand as Allah instructed. So people needn't
worry about their money. Yes. We
whip the disobedient to preserve honour,
morale and a sinless Muslim community.. So that there is no licence for
wickedness, so that there is no refuge for disobedience and immorality.
[Nour]Does Islam allow a man to lie with a woman who is not his wife? Of course, it's forbidden.
[Nour]If that happened...
[Nour]According to the Quran, if they were both single, she would be
whipped. That’s it! But if she was married, she would be stoned.
[Nour]Every true Muslim wants to live like that.
[Nour]As Muslims, we have to follow what the Quran prescribes. We must follow that. The Quran is Allah's gospel. We can't
gainsay it. These are the words of Allah. We must fall
silent before them. It's strictly forbidden to contradict them.
[Nour]When we were escaping, the smuggler didn't want to take us all. We were many. So my husband
couldn't leave and told me to go with the children. I'm afraid they may catch him. A few
days ago, I took a pregnancy test and I was
told I am pregnant by him. He'll be so happy
when he learns he's to have his first child.
[Nour]I'd like to tell him that. I'd like to see him.
KHASIB NOOR’S HUSBAND, ISIS MILITANT FROM TUNISIA
[Investigator]Peace be with you. [Khasib] And with you.
[Investigator] What's your name? [Khasib] Khasib.
[Investigator] What's your ISIS name? [Khasib] Abu Ayub at-Tunisi.
[Investigator] When were you born, Abu Ayub? [Khasib] 1994.
[Investigator] How long have you been in Syria? [Khasib] Two years.
[Investigator]So before you came to Syria... how were they able to persuade you to join ISIS?
[Khasib] Honestly, I'm a regular person. No one bothered me, I didn't harm anyone.
[Khasib]When the Syrian revolution started, everyone was scared. They said Bashar's army was
bombing and killing people, raping women, etc... So I decided to help them.
[Khasib]The Salafi-jihadist movement was on the rise in Tunisia. They spoke in mosques and were calling
for jihad. After I arrived, our positions were bombed and I was wounded in my left
arm. After being treated, an ISIS coordinator came to me. I said, how could I go
anywhere now? I can't fight. I wanted to return to my country. But he said, 'No,
it's an order.' I understood what ISIS was really about 4 months after I joined.
[Investigator]What do you mean, 'understood ISIS'? You came here to fight and only later 'understood' them. How so?
[Khasib]I met many people like me. Guys from Europe, for example.
[Khasib]What attracted them? They came to defend Muslims, to fight for
justice and equality between the rich and the poor. Of
course, there's a schism in ISIS. I'm telling you what the ISIS
rank and file share with each other. The rank and file know
the commanders are hypocrites, that they serve their personal
interests. They have the best cars, which never run out of
petrol. They marry who they want and live in the best houses.
[Khasib]This is oppression.
[Investigator]If tomorrow, all of a sudden, a second Islamic Caliphate was announced, how would you react?
[Khasib]I'd stand on a big podium, call all the people and say, 'You'll be used for their purposes'.
[Khasib]Before joining ISIS, I told my father I was going to fight. 'For
whom?' he asked. 'Don't know', I said, 'one of the mujahedeen groups'.
[Khasib]He said, 'There's Jabhat al-Nusra, Al-Qaeda, ISIS, the Free Syrian
Army. Which one?' I said I didn't know, as long as I could fight.
[Khasib]He said, 'Son, you're free. They're hypocrites.' I should have believed him.
[Khasib]Conniving authorities made terrorism flourish. Bad doctrines must be stopped, so they
don't infect the young. We, Tunisians, studied, worked, prayed. We say to anyone with a
beard, 'Glory to you, sheikh'. Maybe we don't believe all they say, but we can't contest
it. When the Salafis came to Tunisia, everyone followed them without a word of protest.
[Khasib]Government connivance here is very dangerous.
[Investigator]All right. The interrogation is over.
[Khasib]May Allah bless you.
[GEO] WOMEN'S PROTECTION UNITS BASE 50m FROM THE ROAD TO RAQQA
[Sema]Here's our operational area.
[Sema]We're here and Raqqa is there. Here are the walls of the Old City.
[Sema]It's a difficult time now. Two of our comrades have died recently.
[Sema]Mines are the main threat, especially at night. There are no heavy firefights. Please be very
careful. First, watch out for trip wires. Second,
under no circumstances enter any houses.
[Sema]Tonight, comrades Nujan and Rosa are on operation. Dismissed!
[COMRADE ROSE YPJ VOLUNTEER FROM SWEDEN]Well, tonight is the first
operation for our group, so we're going to try to move forward 1 kilometre.
[Rosa]I’m nervous, happy, scared, everything. Most of it is sniper fire,
mines, suicide trucks. You know, because their numbers aren't that many.
[Archive]We don't call disabled people 'invalids'. Their hearts are ahead of their bodies on the path to Allah.
[Rosa]Yeah, it's always in your head, sometimes the friends talk and they say that oh,
today 2 YPG got captured, they cut their heads off. Of course, it's scary. But there's
nothing you can do. My life isn't more important than theirs, you know. We're in this
together. If they get captured, I get captured. If they get injured, I get injured.
[Robin]What is actually a big problem are the little drones with the grenades under
it. And if you hear bzzzz, you look up and you just run in the stairway.
[Agit] Trying to have a relaxing fucking drink on the sun terrace, and then up comes Daesh!
[Robin]Should be gone. They just have a look most of the time and then…
[Sema]Where are those shoulder rigs you took from us?
[Checkdem]We only took one, for a comrade. We'll give it back, promise!
[Sema]Keep it!
[Soldier]Where are you from? Rosa: I'm from Sweden.
[Soldier]Oh, so you're one of the YPJ international people. I never met one since I’m here.
[Rosa]How long have you been here? [Soldier]4.5
months. And you? [Rosa]2 years. [Soldier]2 years?
[Soldier]Why didn't you come out with us yesterday?
[Robin]This is the best job in the world.
[Robin]Can’t see our guys anymore.
[Robin]Look at that…
[Robin]Oh, f***, it’s a dog.
[Robin]I need a chair. Being a sniper was never that comfortable, actually.
[Robin]There’s the call of prayer and you hear the boom-boom-boom. These are suicide bombers. Hear that yelling?
[Robin]“Aa-aa.” This is Daesh. Stupid fuckers!
[Robin]Comrade, big house... ISIS?
[Robin]Comrade Brusk! [Brusk]Big house.
[Robin]Big house. Left, left, left! On the left? [Brusk] Yes, enemy.
[Robin]Argh! I just saw him, I just shot and he just…
[Voice]How do you feel about your job... being successful at your job. Let's put it that way.
[COMRADE ROBIN YPG VOLUNTEER FROM GERMANY ]Uh, yeah. Normally...
[Robin]I hate killing people. And I think it's a bad thing to do, but after
all, I've seen ISIS doing so many bad things to people, especially to women
that I was so happy when I had my first shot. It was a sniper on the first
night, who kept suppressing us. And one time the MRAP, the big armoured vehicle,
was driving by and sniper tried to shoot the window, and I saw his muzzle
flash and I was like, "oh, boy, now you're done!" And I just shot him, I just
shot I think 4 times in a row, nothing to be proud of as a sniper, but um,
I was just like uh, I was just like yeah, I was like "yeah!!!"- like that.
[Robin]The bad guys have never been that clear. ISIS is - anyone in the world agrees
- ISIS is the enemy. If I take a life from an ISIS guy, I save so much other lives.
[Robin]But he’s still lying there, so. He didn’t move.
[Robin]Oh, f***! Enemy? A sniper!
[Голос]Is that ISIS? [Robin]Yes!
[Brusk] Where are they shooting at us from? [Voice] The sniper's in the tall building, comrade.
[Brusk]Cekdar, 01829.
[Voice]Are you sending the APC to Bedran's location? - Yes, yes.
[Brusk]The terrorists are trying to encircle our comrades. They're by the trees.
[Voice]Roger, comrade.
[Robin]One martyr? One guy died. In the fire clashes back there, I think.
[Brusk]Be patient, we've already sent an armoured vehicle your way.
[Dijuar] Explosion, right there.
[Robin]I think the car blew up. I cannot see
because all smoke. 1, 2, 3… They’re just walking.
[Soldier]Comrades, we've got wounded!
[Injured]I have shards in my arm and leg. My mates were wounded too.
[Injured]The armoured car was blown to pieces so we walked. It took a mine.
[Shea] Comrade, comrade! He’s got something here.
[Robin]Yeah, there's more injured. Oh, s***! He's collapsing.
[Shea] There’s more coming! [Agit] More coming? How
soon? [Shea] They're on their way now, 4. [Agit] 4!
[Man] Ones who've been taken care of, come with us.
[Dijwar] Oh, that’s close.
[Robin]I know where he is, I know exactly where he is!
[Robin]That was close, bro!
[Dijwar] I think I see him, might want to come over here. That’s
him. Just around this corner, when you see the fire. Just below that…
[Robin] Below the fire?
[Robin]Oh, they just blew up the building.
[Robin]I think he’s gone. Either dead or just ran off.
[Voice]The gate's open, we must check if anything's there.
[Voice]Sinan, be careful. Hold your position, we're sending reinforcements.
[Voice]Send 2 more people, fast.
[Voice]We handed the group over to comrade Sason.
[Voice]OK, OK, you can come back.
[Robin]The one story that affected me the most? That was actually today. So it got morning and
everything got calm because most of the YPGs are sleeping and ISIS is sleeping in the morning.
[Robin]And then all of a sudden a guy turned up with 2 of his comrades and he had a sword in
his hand, big sword. And uh, he was just whacking things, like a chair and other things.
[Robin]I was trying to walk by him and he tried to tell us that ISIS just executed, a
few minutes, or maybe an hour ago, his 3 kids. They were just beheading them.
[Robin]All of a sudden, maybe 2 minutes later we heard screaming from down,
from down the street, so I had a look down and I saw him – his 2
comrades trying to run at him and he just started running to the ISIS
base. He just started running there. Without a rifle, just with a sword.
[Robin]I was trying to get them at least some fire support... They will all get killed, they will all die. Fuck. Fuck!
[Robin]I think 2 minutes later we heard airstrikes from the Americans
because they probably saw them on satellite, thought they were ISIS and uh...
that actually made me really sad.
[Robin]They all died, yeah...
[Sema]Let's go.
[Robjin]You're OK? [Nujan] Yeah, it was good.
[Refugees] Come on, grandpa.
RESCUED RAQQA CIVILIANS
SOME OF THOSE WHO APPEARED IN THIS FILM HAVE SINCE BEEN KILLED IN ACTION AROUND RAQQA.
ROBERT GRODT, LUKE RUTTER, NICHOLAS WARDEN: JULY 5, 2017
DAVID TAYLOR: JULY 17, 2017
COMRADE BRUSK: JULY 20, 2017
COMRADE CEKDEM: AUGUST 10, 2017
COMRADE EGIT: AUGUST 10, 2017
MUSIC COURTESY OF Evin u Jinda, “Rewiyen
Xakurke” Mem Ararat, “Evina Du Ciya” Ertan Tekin,
“Lo Sivano” ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE COURTESY OF News This Second @Harp_detectives @crazy_kyia