In the face of heavy Russian airstrikes, a number of ISIS militants have reportedly fled to Turkey from Syria by shaving off their beards and dressing as women to pass unnoticed.

Mounds of shaved facial hair have been discovered in Aleppo, Syria, along with discarded packets of Syrian razors.

A photo on Twitter posted by Iraqi journalist Hala Jaber shows huge piles of hair. The journalist tweeted that the ISIS fighters shaved off their beards so they could escape clean shaven to Turkey.

Let’s shave… Photo apparently showing left over beards shaved off by rebels running 4m #Syria. pic.twitter.com/RJ3DVOJ8YR — Hala Jaber (@HalaJaber) October 12, 2015

.2/ More Jihadi beards, shaved off in Reef #Aleppo, as they flee clean shaven 2 #Turkey, these Via @leithfadel pic.twitter.com/xOmMkhH8oY — Hala Jaber (@HalaJaber) October 12, 2015

According to members of anti-ISIS resistance, some newly-shaved Islamic State militants are donning women’s robes and veils to get away unnoticed.

Islamic State fighters all wear shaggy beards, and shaving or cutting facial hair is “haram” (forbidden) under Sharia law. Last April, ISIS overlords banned shaving among the male population of captive Mosul, citing Sharia precepts.

As more than 500 Russian army airstrikes have pounded the jihadi forces in Syria, Moscow security services contend that thousands of terrorists have abandoned their weapons and fled to Turkey, apparently en route to Europe as refugees.

According to senior Russian General Andrey Kartapolov, cases of desertion among the jihadists are no longer isolated, and the Islamists are now demoralized and fleeing “en masse.”

Moreover, as many as 3,000 UK nationals who headed to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS are feared to be on their way back home, reports claim.

In a September interview with BBC Radio, MI5 Director-General Andrew Parker said that the present terrorism situation is the “most serious threat Britain faces in security terms.” He noted that six alleged terror plots have been foiled in the past 12 months, which was the highest number he could recall in his 32-year career and “certainly the highest number since 9/11.”

“Most of the people who try to become involved in terrorism in this country are people who were born and brought up here, have come through our education system, and have nonetheless concluded that the country – their home country and the country of their birth – is their enemy,” he said.

Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter @tdwilliamsrome.