Forget the NHS, it's now the ISHS! Daesh launches British-style health service

Published April 25th, 2015 - 04:00 GMT
Al Bawaba
Al Bawaba

Islamic State (Daesh) have reportedly launched their own 'health service', bearing remarkable similarities to the publicly funded British health service, the National Health Service (NHS).

Known as the Islamic State Health Service (ISHS), even the acronym appears to be an unimaginative copy of the UK's free health system. 

Emerging last night on social media, the video's poster shows a cropped image of a doctor, wearing an NHS style blue surgical scrubs, almost identical to images seen on the British healthcare service's leaflets.

A stethoscope can be seen hanging around the male doctor's neck and a small microphone appears to be attached to his gown, suggesting the health worker was interviewed.

An electrocardiogram and the outline of an x-ray also appear in the western style health service poster. 

Billed as the 'Islamic State Dewan of Health', the background photo indicates the video might focus on doctors performing surgery in a hospital, based in the IS held city of Raqqa, Syria.

The poster comes at a time when jihadis on social media, most notably British fighter Omar Hussain, has called on European doctors to join Islamic State. 

British female jihadi Aqsa Mahmood, come also be drafted into working as part of the Islamic State Health Service.

The Glasgow born radical, also known as online recruiter Umm Layth, studied radiography at Glasgow Calendonian university.

She originally had high hopes of becoming a doctor before she left her family home and traveled to Syria in November 2013.

The 20-year-old, who was privately educated Craigholme School and Shawlands Academy in Glasgow, is currently believed to be a prominent member of the fearsome al-Khansaa brigade.

The al-Khansaa brigade is an all-female militia, mostly foreign female jihadis, who patrol the streets and punish any woman caught committing acts against Islam.

However it is likely that with mounting casualties, any jihadi with medical training will be drafted in to work in the ISIS hospitals in Raqqa and Mosul. 

The news comes after nine British medical student reportedly traveled to Syria last month, claiming they were going to help treat the war victims.

The students are all believed to be of Sudanese origin and were studying at a medical school in Khartoum, Sudan.

The four men and five women reportedly crossed the Turkish-Syrian border last month. Their families traveled to Turkey, desperately attempting to persuade them to come back from the war-torn country.

 

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