Looking for Medical Care? Islamic State Has Got You Covered

In the Islamic State’s latest attempt to recruit Westerners to join their caliphate in Iraq and Syria, the extremist group released a video Friday asking trained doctors to consider a career move to Raqqa, Syria.

The video, translated and posted by the Site Intel group, is a rare example of the group using a positive PR campaign to tout their medical successes rather than claiming responsibility for bloody attacks. Just last week, the group released a video documenting the murders of 30 Christian Ethiopians in Libya.

But in these 15 minutes of footage, doctors who identify themselves as Indian, Australian, Egyptian, and Syrian make the case for why Muslim medical professionals should join their ranks. And the cameraman is careful to feature doctors in a variety of units, ranging from a special kidney center to a medical school. Even the logo at the bottom of the screen says Islamic State Health Services, and a small Islamic State flag waves in the top-left corner.

One clip features a tour of the physical therapy department of a Raqqa hospital, where Indian doctor Abu Muqatil al-Hindi explains how with help from other foreigners they’ve upped their number of patients from 30 each week to upwards of 500.

“We have physical therapy doctors from Australia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and that’s the few to be named,” al-Hindi said.

“We have female physical therapy doctors separately for the females and for the children,” he added.

The Australian doctor, who identifies himself as Abu Yusuf al-Australi and speaks English in a heavy Australian accent, offers the camera a tour of the pediatric unit.

“When I got here I was very happy I made the decision, a little bit saddened by how long I delayed it,” he said. “Wish I came a lot sooner.”

One clip shows him treating an infant for dehydration and explaining his diagnosis out loud in English.

Both doctors insist that while they have more than enough equipment, from incubators to x-ray machines, what they really need is Western-trained doctors to take advantage of the facilities.

“Everything lived up to my expectations completely,” al-Australi said. “We really need your help. Any little thing gives the local people who are truly suffering a lot of benefit.”

Site Intel Screenshot