ISIS Sick Notes? Islamic State Fighters Complain Of Headaches, Knee Problems In Requests To Go Home

Members of the Islamic State group have recently been turning in sick notes citing headaches, knee problems and sore feet as reasons they can't continue fighting alongside the extremist organization, IraqiNews.com reported Sunday.

Soldiers with the Tariq ibn Ziyad battalion, a European terror cell formed in 2015, have been using minor illnesses as excuses to leave ISIS in favor of their home countries. The notes themselves were reportedly discovered by Iraqi troops working to liberate cities like Mosul from ISIS control, and they were later circulated on social media, according to the private online newspaper.

This wasn't the first time ISIS fighters' sick notes have gone viral. The Center for Combating Terrorism wrote in a April 2016 report that ISIS was cracking under pressure as it lost territory and manpower from air strikes.

"The personnel shortages were also evidenced by an Islamic State document that emerged last year," the center said. "Issued in Deir ez-Zor province in eastern Syria, the document indicates that a number of Islamic State members had been seeking false medical reports from doctors in order to avoid frontline duty."

The April report inspired a monologue from comedian and late-night TV show host James Corden. "Imagine a member of ISIS calling in like, 'Oh, hey, guys (cough), I've actually got a bit of a cough so I don't think I can go to the suicide bombing today, I just really want to be at my best when I do it, so… (cough) I'll try and get some work done from home,'" he said, according to Al Bawaba.

Statistics show ISIS's numbers have indeed been dropping steadily. In 2014, the United States Defense Department estimated ISIS had up to 31,500 troops, according to military.com. As of last July, membership was down to 12,000, NBC News reported.

However, sick note or not, fighters can't simply go home without consequence, the Telegraph reported. Even if they get there safely, they can expect interrogation and criminal charges.