Some foreign members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are reportedly fighting over ranks as signs of tension and power struggles within the extremist group start to emerge.

ISIS holds at least a third of the Syria and Iraq and despite multiple airstrikes by United States-led coalition, the group holds fast to its seized territories. The news over its power struggle comes weeks after ISIS was to be undergoing financial troubles.

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According to Lina Khatib, the director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, Lebanon, the ISIS militants are struggling with problems that did not exist before as the Kurdish forces successfully drove them out of the border town of Kobani last month.

Bari Abdellatif, a resident of al-Bab who went to Turkey for safety, said the friction started between the Chechen and Uzbek members of ISIS. It led to clashes but ended when ISIS commander Omar al-Shishani intervened.

However, two senior figures were reportedly killed due to the internal conflict.

Abdellatif added that due to the months-long battle between the militants and Kurdish forces, it has caused tension between the ISIS militants as they accused each other of betrayal. Other activists also confirmed that there is indeed a strain between the factions with different backgrounds who are part of the ISIS militants.

There has also been a shortage in the supply lines of the militants and this problem has dealt heavy blows to their weaponries and manpower as around 1,000 militants were confirmed to have been killed in the battle. Kurdish forces are expected to fight more militants in order to regain territories in the towns like Minbij, Jarablus, and Tal Abyad.

Another incident that shows there is tension between the factions was when a senior official from the Hisba group was found beheaded with cigarette stuffed in his mouth. Reports say he might have been killed for smoking as such act is prohibited by the militants.

However, an Egyptian official, also an ISIS militant, suspected that the official might have been killed because he was suspected of being a spy. This is not the first time that such a killing was done as several other officials suspected of spying were also reportedly taken out.

In addition, foreigners from around the globe who went to join the ISIS have also been killed as they tried to escape and return home. According to a Human Rights Observatory, at least 120 members were killed for this reason.

TagsISIS, tension, financial trouble, spying