http://www.vocativ.com/world/isis-2/isis-fighter-interview/

We interviewed an ISIS fighter being held by the Free Syrian Army about the manipulation of recruits and how ISIS betrayed him

We sat around the living room of Sheikh Husam Atrash, commander of the Jaish al-Mujahideen brigade of the Free Syrian Army, interviewing him by the light of some LEDs powered by a car battery. The power was off in the Western countryside of Aleppo, Syria, as has usually been the case since the civil war began.

“Do you have any ISIS prisoners right now?” I asked.

The sheikh nodded.

“Can I interview one?”

The sheikh nodded again. “Yes. I give my hearty consent. We have nothing to hide.”

The next morning, we were ushered into one of the brigades bases—a grand vacation mansion abandoned by it’s wealthy inhabitants at the start of the war. An FSA fighter sporting a mullet and an AK-47 led in the prisoner—a young man who looked more like a Brooklyn hipster than a murderous jihadi. He was sheepish, fidgeting as he waited for us to set up.

The fighters wouldn’t let us roll the camera until the prisoner’s face was covered and would give us only an alias for him: “Abu Abdullah.” We were told he was from Saudi Arabia, and when an Arabic expert reviewed our footage, he confirmed that the man was speaking in a Saudi dialect.

Abdullah told us his story. He landed in Antakya, Turkey, at night. An ISIS member met him and smuggled him across the border into Syria. He spent 30 days in a training camp, and then spent time in Raqqah, ISIS’ main stronghold in Syria.

He talked about all the foreigners in ISIS. Lots of Saudis, Tunisians, Libyans. Lots of Europeans. Lots of Americans, and he shockingly claimed there were twice the number of American women as men. Lured by the lofty goals of the Islamic State, they come to marry the fighters.

The Saudis, Europeans and Americans have money, he told us. ISIS would pay $100 a month to each fighter; Abdullah would spend five times that.

Abdullah’s final stop with ISIS was in the western countryside of Aleppo. In a battle against Jaish al-Mujahideen, he was captured. When the FSA talked to him, he realized that ISIS had essentially sent him on a suicide mission. “I was a victim,” he said.

“How do you feel about America now?” I asked.

“I have a lot of relatives who study in America,” he said. “Some have lived there eight years. I have no problem with the American people. My problem is with American politics…because they have made some mistakes.”

Vocativ producer Lindsey Snell reported extensively from Syria while embedded with the Free Syrian Army, also known as the FSA, as they fight against both ISIS and the Syrian regime. She got a ride in their DIY tank that’s made out of an old truck and controlled by a repurposed video game controller. She also met with workers at a health clinic still operating in Syria that treats anyone who is in need of help, whether they are civilians, FSA members, ISIS members, or members of Bashar’s forces.

Once back in the United State Lindsey got word from a contact on the ground in Syria that American air strikes were hitting the wrong targets. We were able to talk with an FSA media director on Skype who told us that bombs intended to hit ISIS targets were hitting FSA and civilian controlled buildings.