Aug 4, 2014

The people of the city of Jurf Al-Sakhar, in the Babil governorate of Iraq, know little about the young Mohammed Marzouk.

All they did know was that despite barely being able to complete his university education at the Faculty of Education, he showed up one day driving a luxury car that was beyond the reach of those wealthier than him.

The young twenty-something failed to secure himself a government job after graduation, as he once wished. However, he managed to land a job with the Islamic State (IS) that came with a good salary, a weapon and a luxury car. After joining the group he took up the responsibility of recruiting young people in the region where they live.

Many of the young people in Marzouk’s area see working with IS as an opportunity to appear powerful and respected by the residents who support the extremist group. IS took the city in order to cut a road in the south leading up to the capital Baghdad. The town of Jurf Al-Sakhar is also linked to Anbar province, which was seized by IS a few months ago.

Battles are taking place almost daily in the area, resulting in the destruction of homes. Empty houses are often booby-trapped by IS fighters who wait for the army to enter before detonating them, and they have managed to kill many young soldiers in the army. However, the soldiers are no longer falling for this trick as they avoid entering empty houses and if they do, they make sure to exit them swiftly.