Female jihadis train, misfire in new video

A jihadist group released a new video depicting an all-female training camp in Syria battling the Assad regime.

The three-and-a-half minute clip — which is reportedly not known to be associated with the Islamic State, al-Nusra Front or any other Islamic organization within Syria — shows several dozen niqab-clad women chanting a barrage of jihadist slogans and engaging in drills, wielding and firing Kalashnikov assault rifles.

The women are shown following the orders of a female commander, who addresses them while in formation.

“We came out to fight for our religion and our country. We came out to train women to be the same as men, to defend their rights if they are attacked by that evil tyrant [Bashar Assad] and his soldiers and whoever follows him,” the commander said, according to the International Business Times.

“I am now on the outskirts of Aleppo and we have trained 45 sisters in marking and shooting. And after a while, by the will of God, we will be in the heart of Idlib, and after that in Daraa, and after that in the center of Sham [Syria],” another woman stated.

“We learned shooting, and assembling weapons technically, and various other things,” said another jihadist. “This is so we stand in one line shoulder to shoulder with our sons and the men in the battlefields, because the role of the woman is no less important than that of the man.”

At one point, the women in the video appear to be attempting to engage in a marksmanship exercise. However high winds, smothering face coverings and seemingly poor knowledge of shooting stances and gun use make the endeavor appear to be somewhat challenging for the extremists.

In addition to engaging in unsafe handling of their rifles, the heavy recoil from semi-automatic and automatic gunfire appears to be excessive for a number of jihadists featured in the clip.

According to the Daily Mail, the video was filmed at the Church of St. Simeon Stylites, a UNESCO World Heritage site that lies 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the rebel-held Syrian city of Aleppo.

The 5th century Byzantine church, the oldest to have survived, was a once-popular site with worshipers, as it boasts breathtaking architecture and mosaics that are likely threatened by the Islamic State, a terrorist group operating in Syria and Iraq that disavows the worship of any shrines.

The Islamic State has destroyed countless ancient artifacts and buildings throughout Iraq and Syria.