ISIS member wants to return to Italy, warns of "sleeper cells"

An ISIS fighter detained in Syria urged Italy on Saturday (March 9) to let him come home to start a new life, saying he had abandoned the self-styled jihadist "caliphate" after growing disillusioned with its rulers.

Mounsef al-Mkhayar, a 22-year-old of Moroccan descent who grew up in Italy, spoke to Reuters at a security office in northern Syria in his first interview since surrendering to the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) two months ago.

He has been in prison since emerging from Baghouz, a tiny village in eastern Syria where the SDF is poised to wipe out the last vestige of ISIS rule - which once spanned a third of Iraq and Syria.

Mkhayar gave an account of growing chaos among jihadists on the brink of defeat, and of disputes in the ranks as top commanders fled Syria. But he said ISIS  was also planning for the next phase, smuggling out hundreds of men to set up sleeper cells across Iraq and eastern Syria.