‘They cut hands, cut heads, play with corpses’: Islamic extremists fighting brutal war against Kurds in Syria

news.nationalpost.com So far, the ISIS ground assaults have failed and the jihadis have suffered heavy casualties. Now, the would-be destroyers satisfy themselves with occasional mortar and small arms fire at the Kobani fighters, or try to pick them off with snipers. For their part, the Kurds combine a studied contempt for their opponents’ tactical abilities with a sort of fascinated horror for some of their practices. “They cut hands, cut heads, play with corpses,” said one female fighter. “Many of them are on drugs. They attack randomly, haphazardly. But they can’t progress into our areas.” A male fighter was more succinct. Asked about the Chechens who make up a significant portion of the jihadis’ manpower, he replied, “They are monsters.” Despite the siege, Kobani looks well equipped to survive for the foreseeable future. But the largely unnoticed war here offers broader lessons for the likely direction of events in Syria. to read more: news.nationalpost.com