Over 6,000 fighters joined the Islamic State in July alone

August 20, 2014 08:54 am | Updated April 21, 2016 04:38 am IST - Damascus

A total of 6,300 rebel fighters joined the Islamic State (IS) militant group in July alone, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported has said.

The Observatory on Tuesday said 6,300 fighters had joined the training camps of the group in Syria’s northern provinces of al-Raqqa and Aleppo, Xinhua reported.

Among them, 5,000 recruits are Syrians, the Observatory said, adding that the rest are newly-recruited fighters.

The Observatory, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, said that 1,300 fighters are Arab and foreign nationals, adding that a majority of them entered Syria from Turkey.

It said that the IS pays a single Syrian fighter $400 a month. In case of married militants, their kids and spouses also get paid. As for fighters from overseas, they have a monthly pay of $800 dollars.

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