Rebel fighter is ‘on message’ – but grim reality reveals undercurrent of hate
Abu Abdulah in the Hiace
Abu Abdulah in the Hiace
Paraic O'Brien
Today at 03:30
‘We like the Irish,” is a reassuring thing to hear when you’re travelling in the back of a Hiace full of Islamist fighters in the middle of the night and feeling a bit jumpy.
We’d met a young militant, Abu Abdullah, by chance the day before in the neighbourhood of Sabile, Homs city. He had invited us to join his unit the following night.