A mystery woman has covertly provided the world with a rare glimpse of life in the heartland of the Islamic State using a camera concealed beneath her niqab.
The extraordinary footage was taken in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the 'capital' of the militant regime since March.
She is forced to wear the traditional Islamic clothing, which covers the entire face except for the eyes, under the strict Sharia law imposed by IS, which has taken vast swathes of Iraq and Syria in a bloody campaign.
The footage covertly shows men wielding Kalashnikov assault rifles everywhere in the city which is about 100 miles from Aleppo, Syria's largest city.
It is not just men who have taken up arms to defend IS nascent regime as a niqab-garbed woman, taking her children to the park, is seen with a Kalashnikov assault rifle slung over her shoulder.
There is also a heart-stopping moment when an armed man in a car calls over the woman filming, telling her she has to 'behave better' in public.
Her crime? Her face can be seen, something forbidden by the militants' interpretation of Islam.
She apologises for the transparency of her veil, to which the man responds: 'You have to pay attention by covering up. God loves women who are covered.'
The report, aired on a French TV channel, describes forced prayer times and how there is no music and no entertainment.
It also features some of the estimated 150 women who have chosen to leave France to live in the Islamic State.
The camerawoman enters an internet cafe where women are seen talking in French and contacting family members they have left behind.
One woman tells her mother: 'I am not going back, mom. I am telling it to you bluntly. You have to get it through your head that I am not returning.
'I did not take the risk by coming here to go back to France. I do not want to return because I am doing well here mom. There is nothing to gain from weeping or being afraid.'
The daughter, defends her new homeland, adding: 'All I see on TV is false. They exaggerate everything on TV.'
Her mother's anguish is justified. Raqqa was targeted by the U.S. and its Arabic allies in a series of air strikes this week.
Adapted from: Daily Mail UK
