Captured ISIS militants say they now regret joining terror group

Islamic State militants, who are now incarcerated at a Kurdish-run prison in Northern Iraq, are expressing their regret for joining the terror group.

In an interview with CNN, three ISIS fighters admitted that they played a role in an attack committed by the jihadist group in Kirkuk in October. The attack, which resulted in the deaths of 96 people, was considered as a distraction from the operation taking place in Mosul.

Laith Ahmed, who used to work as a carpenter, said that he was enticed to join the group because of a promising salary.

"I made a mistake. I don't know how to read or write. Everything I did was wrong," he admitted.

The Kurdish authorities told CNN that the 26-year-old Laith worked for the terror group as an inghamisi or a suicide fighter and led a group of five men in the attack on Kirkuk. He claims to have no knowledge about his position as an inghamisi.

He said that he and the other men were tricked into carrying out the attack. He said that the terror group just handed them their weapons and dropped them off in specific locations and left. He was captured and restrained by local residents until the Kurdish security forces took him into custody.

Akram Ahmed, 22, was approached by an ISIS member while he was working in his cell phone repair shop. He admitted that he once liked the idea of a nation being ruled by Islamic laws.

"The Caliphate persuaded us with religion. I am a student of sharia law in university. So these ideas are convincing to me," he said.

He was told to go on a reconnaissance and surveillance mission ahead of the assault. He filmed key government and security buildings with the use of his phone. It has been confirmed that many of the sites he photographed were attacked by ISIS.

Akram said that he now regrets joining the group and he still hopes that he can rejoin the community again someday.

"Now if I walk in my street people will say I killed their children. If I go to the mosque people will say he killed my children. If I come to get married, people will say he killed our children," he said.

Abdelrahman al-Azy, who lived in the city of Kirkuk, said that he pledged allegiance to the jihadist group using his mobile phone. He was the one who distributed the salaries to the militants and their families.

He considered himself as a strict Muslim and said that he once believed that those who do not pledge to the caliph were not Muslims.

Abdelrahman attested that he no longer believes in the caliphate and he does not want to be associated with ISIS anymore. However, he still believes that the jihadists group will still survive even if they lose Mosul.

"In Iraq they (ISIS) will survive because there are so many cells. Just look in Kirkuk. There were so many cells. In my opinion even if they lose Mosul they will exist in Iraq," he said.

It was reported last August that most ISIS recruits have little knowledge about Islam. About 70 percent listed their knowledge of the religion as "basic" while 24 percent said they have an "intermediate" knowledge. Only five percent considered themselves as advanced students of Islam.