Former Islamic State militants captured by Kurdish forces in Northern Syria told CNN correspondent Ivan Watson that IS (ISIL or ISIS) leaders drugged and brainwashed them to fight for "Islam and justice."
The first prisoner, identified as Suleiman, told Watson he received $3,600 to detonate a car bomb outside a Kurdish military base.
"They said they were fighting for Islam and justice. They were lying to us," Suleiman said. "They took advantage of our minds and our poverty."
The next prisoner was a 19-year-old named Kareem, who fought for IS in Syria for more than a year.
"They gave us drugs--hallucinogenic pills that would make you go to battle not caring if you live or die," Kareem said.
Kareem explained why IS beheads those who violate its interpretation of Islamic law.
"Whenever ISIS goes into an area, the people there who don't adhere to their Islamic law are apostates," Kareem said. "Everything has to follow ISIS's way. Even women who don't cover their faces. Women would also get their heads chopped off."
The final prisoner, Jaber, said that if IS militants had found Watson, an American journalist, he would have met the same fate as James Foley, Steven Sotloff, and David Haines.
"With ISIS, your fate would be death," Jaber said. "There are different kinds of death. They would torture you, for sure. They might decapitate you, or cut off your hands. They will not simply shoot a bullet in your head."