Isil for first time urging women to join battle to combat dwindling manpower

The Islamic State is increasingly urging women to fight in its battles, in a significant ideological move that highlights the group’s desperate bid to boost its manpower.

Women had not previously participated in Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s armed struggle, with the single exception of an all-female brigade responsible for policing females in their Syrian stronghold of Raqqa. 

However, with the jihadists losing large numbers of militants in the fight for Raqqa and Mosul in Iraq they have begun to adjust its narrative to appeal to an untapped resource – female fighters.

Its dwindling pool of male fighters is leading the group to seek out women for the frontline, according to analysis by IHS Markit, a UK-based defence consultancy. 

The first approved use of women in battle was thought to have been at the end of the Mosul offensive, where Isil put up a fierce defence for what had been the largest and most strategic territory under its control.

One captured jihadi bride, German teenager Linda Wenzel, was believed to have been trained as a sniper to target Iraqi troops. Officials told the Telegraph they arrested at least a dozen more foreign women they believed had been ordered to attack them.

In the final days of the operation more than 40 are believed to have carried out suicide attacks against the army in Mosul’s Old City, some even killing their children in the process. 

Isil realised the value in sending women as they were very rarely checked for explosives, due to Iraq’s socially conservative culture. 

“Despite Islamic State’s claims to the contrary, urging women to seek an active role in combat is most likely an attempt to reduce the impact of severe manpower shortages caused by the decimation of male fighters, and a recruitment crisis,” said Ludovico Carlino, a senior analyst at IHS Markit. 

“It is as yet unclear whether the spike in female suicide bombings is simply a result of the final pockets of Isil resistance or women compelled by the group to execute those attacks, or whether it represents the beginning of a wider trend of female fighters willing to take part in the group’s battles.”

Meanwhile the latest edition of Rumiyah, Isil’s online magazine, indicated a revisal of previous messaging surrounding the role of women. 

In an article entitled Our Journey to Allah, the author emphasises that the role of women is of increased importance, as “ahead of us await times of intense trials and extreme hardships, and times of severe battles.” 

Rumiyah is released in several western languages, including English, French and German, indicating that this call is primarily directed at a Western audience, likely the wives and widows of foreign fighters still living in the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate.

“This rhetoric marks a stark contrast to previous propaganda that had highlighted women’s primary function as wives and mothers of mujahideen (fighter),” Mr Carlino said. 

European officials have also recently admitted they have underestimated the threat of female militants in Europe and the role they wish to play when they return to their home countries from conflict zones.

Some 24 women and three girls under the age of 18 are in custody in France for alleged extremism offenses, and some 40 percent of French recruits who joined Isil in Syria are female, according to the French Interior Ministry.

Tashfeen Malik set the precedent for female Isil attackers in the West when she and her husband shot and killed 14 people in teh Californian city of San Bernardino. 

Last September, French authorities arrested two teenage women on suspicion of planning an attack on Notre Dame after a car full of gas canisters was discovered parked close to the cathedral. 

The pair had been in contact with a prominent French Isil recruiter, who is believed to have directed the failed attack.