Two health care workers from Britain are believed to be behind "Nazi-style" medical experiments the Islamic State carried out on its captives.
Former National Health Service (NHS) doctor Issam Abuanza, 40, left his wife and children behind in Britain to head to Syria in 2014. At that time, he was named ISIS' "health minister," the Daily Mail reported. A former pharmacist, Mohammad Anwar Miah, also 40, was appointed to help Abuanza remove captives' organs.
Those who witnessed what took place said the organs were used as transplants for wounded jihadis or were sold on the black market. The money from the harvested organs sold on the black market would go directly back into the terrorist organization. Any "left over" organs were thrown in captives' cells as a form of torture, The Sun reported.
What's even more shocking: Abuanza and a team allegedly carried out chemical testing on captives.
From the Daily Mail:
A ten-man medical team headed by Abuanza also allegedly carried out chemical tests on prisoners, it is claimed.
The exact nature of the chemicals are unknown.
The allegations are at odds with Miah’s account of his years with the group, which he gave to the Daily Mail from northern Syria just weeks ago.
This newspaper has since been able to piece together an extraordinary alternative account of the pair’s lives inside the brutal terrorist organisation.
Details of their alleged roles come from activist group Sound and Picture, whose members lived under the jihadis’ rule and closely followed their activities.
According to Sound and Picture co-founder Aghiad al-Kheder, ISIS needed to appear like a government agency, not a radical extremist group.
"Islamic State needed to show that it was a government not a radical group and so it appointed a minister for everything," al-Kheder told The Sun. "Issam was minister for health which meant he was responsible for everything health related."
From The Sun:
He added that Abuanza became known for his unflinching cruelty, adding: "Issam first chose Mohammed Anwar – he needed someone to help."
Both Brit medics - who shared the nickname Abu Obayda - allegedly performed their sick procedures in hospitals in the former ISIS strongholds of Mayadin and Deir Ezzor between 2015 and 2017.
Mr Al-Kheder added: "Anwar was involved in the transfer of human organs from the prisoners to members of IS and the human organ trade that was conducted by IS.
"They experimented with torture and with chemical materials but we are not sure for what purposes."
He also claimed the group locked prisoners in rooms with dismembered bodies.
Anwar claims he went to Syria to "do humanitarian work," serving as an assistant orthopedic surgeon.
"I came here to do humanitarian work, I came here with that intention and that’s what I did," he said. "I did not take part in any of these atrocities or incited any hatred or made any videos. I have never killed or hurt anybody."
He claims that during the four years he was in eastern Syria, he met no other British citizens and only treated civilians.
According to Sound and Picture, the two men met in 2015 and became close. They both worked at "Alteb Alhadith," a hospital in the area, where Anwar was allowed to perform surgery on civilians. That same year Abuanza was named the Islamic State's health minister.
"Issam was minister for health which meant he was responsible for everything health related," al-Khede said. "Anwar was involved in the transfer of human organs from the prisoners to members of IS and the human organ trade that was conducted by IS."