The ISIS Islamist militia apparently has a Twitter mole

(Image credit: CC by: Thierry Ehrmann)

last updated 8 January 2015

In the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria's war to carve out an Islamic caliphate from its two namesake countries, there's a counter-war being waged by Twitter user @wikibaghdady, reports The Daily Beast's Jacob Siegel. The "mysterious Twitter account is trying to stop ISIS's rise to power by spilling the terror group's secrets online," he writes. Siegel cautions that the account should be taken seriously but with skepticism, and is probably written by someone (or someones) in Syria. Then Siegel plays detective:

Whoever @wikibaghdady is, two things about him are clear: He's a fellow Islamist who has a beef with ISIS, and he's someone close to the group, providing the kind of details that only come from intimacy. That doesn't make him some kind of hero, but if snitches had to be saints, the NYPD would shut down tomorrow. Wikibaghdady isn't outing secrets to curb ISIS's wanton slaughter. He's a fellow jihadi playing dirty politics against members of his own cohort. [Daily Beast]

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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