ISIS Desperation: Sex Slaves For Sale On Facebook As City Sieges Tighten

Fighters for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) may be resorting to selling their sex slaves, perhaps to finance and supply the extremist militants as they attempt to thwart efforts by several international coalitions of militias and military forces aligned against them. According to watchdog organizations monitoring ISIS’ activities, at least one ISIS fighter appears to have posted sex slaves for sale on Facebook.

The Washington Post reported May 28 that some ISIS militants, those who either “own” or in some way have access to sex slaves kept by Islamic State members, may now be selling the slaves for financial gain for themselves or to support the extremists’ military and organizational programs. On May 20, the Washington non-profit Middle East Media Research Institute managed to grab the images and postings of two women who apparently were put up for sale on Facebook before the social media site deleted the postings (as part of the site’s self-monitoring and security against unsavory and illegal practices).

https://www.facebook.com/washingtonpost/posts/10153842125787293

Both of the women, each described as a “sabiyah” (slave), appear to be young. The Post speculated that one may have been 18. But even if their ages may have been somewhat in doubt, what the poster — the Facebook account is attributed to Abu Assad Almani, an ISIS fighter from Germany who is believed to be operating in Syria — intends is not. The women are slaves. They are for sale.

“To all the bros thinking about buying a slave, this one is $8,000.”

In the comment section, where the discussion runs gamut of ridicule to curiosity, one even questioned how Almani came up with the $8,000 asking price, asking if the female in the photo had some type of exceptional skill. Armani was matter-of-fact: According to him, she did — the price was derived from “supply and demand.”

The photos of the women were posted to Facebook a couple hours apart. Both were quickly taken down. The second offering was being sold for “also about $8,000.”

Steven Stalinsky, executive director at Middle East Media Research Institute, said of the extremist organization: “We have seen a great deal of brutality, but the content that ISIS has been disseminating over the past two years has surpassed it all for sheer evil. Sales of slave girls on social media is just one more example of this.”

https://www.facebook.com/NBCNews/posts/1252829631403731

There have been many reports of sex trafficking of women kept as slaves by ISIS militants. Although initially denied, ISIS defended its sex slave practices by citing ancient Islamic traditions that hold that non-Muslim women — or even apostate Muslim women — can be held as sex slaves if they’re captured in battle. Human Rights Watch, a humanitarian watchdog organization, has cited Kurdish officials in Syria and Iraq as estimating that some 1,800 women and girls, just from Yazidi (a Kurdish religious sect that follows ancient Mesopotamian views) towns alone, are currently held as sex slaves by ISIS militants.

Abu Assad Almani is believed to be in Raqqa, the capital of Islamic State in Syria. His acts of posting slaves for sale could be, according to experts, desperate attempts to garner finances in trying times. In mid-May, according to CNN, coalition sources announced that ISIS had declared a state of emergency in Raqqa and tightened security within the city. This was believed to be in response to the military threat of Syrian Democratic Forces closing in on the city.

Coalition forces and a contingent of militias led by Iran have also laid siege to ISIS-held Fallujah, Iraq. The extremists have held the city since 2014, but besiegement historically leads to privations and desperation, including methods of securing finances. Although there have been no reported Facebook incidents of sex slaves for sale out of Fallujah, Vice News reports that the militants have moved approximately 50,000 citizen toward the city’s center to be used as human shields while AhlulBayt News Agency reports others trying to escape the coming carnage are being charged as much as $2,500 at ISIS checkpoints to leave the city. The price had been $5,000, but rapid advances made by Iraqi joint forces prompted ISIS militants to lower the extortion price.

[Image via Wikimedia Commons]