Someone’s search history on their laptop can give you insight into their life. That is no different for those in Raqqa, a part of the Islamic State, writes The Daily Beast. A laptop belonging to a bride of an ISIS fighter was captured days before she was, according to The Daily Beast, and it reveals the mindset of one European jihadist.
The hard drive was taken by Ahrar al-Furat, reports The Daily Beast, a resistance group active within Islamic State territory. The woman it belongs to was a Flemish-speaking Belgian woman who is of Moroccan descent. More than 500 Belgian nationals traveled to Syria and Iraq to join ISIS, and though more than 100 have been confirmed killed, she has not. According to The Daily Beast, she was captured alive in Raqqa and is now in custody of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The woman most likely thought no one would ever see the data from her computer. According to The Daily Beast, other people who were captured tend to distance themselves from the violence associated with the Islamic State, and claim to be victims. But The Daily Beast writes that “at no point does this Belgian woman appear disillusioned with the now floundering Islamic State project.” Instead, she repeatedly visits the “war in Afghanistan” Wikipedia page and watches YouTube videos of American AC 130 gunships.
There is also more than a terabyte of pornography on the hard drive, with titles ranging from “enjoy first time sex” to “make him your teacher,” reports The Daily Beast.
The woman also repeatedly watched lectures by jihadist clerics linked to Islamic State and al Qaeda, reports The Daily Beast, and the hard drive contains PDFs of religious literature associated with the Islamic State and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Then there are baking recipes and movies, as well as news about fellow Belgians who have joined ISIS. She used Facebook to exchange messages with Islamists back home in Belgium as late at Aug. 17, reports The Daily Beast.
Her final Google search came Aug. 24. She searched “what do ypg do with isis terrorists,” reports The Daily Beast, as if she knew her capture was coming.
Other Belgian nationals are among those European fighters in custody. The Iraqi ambassador to Belgium stated they will not be extradited, but will instead by prosecuted in Iraq. They could be sentenced to death.
This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter. Sign up now.