Terror group ISIS would win a 'Battle of the Bad Guys' against the Wagner group right now, according to a leading international war expert.
The Russian group of mercenaries, which is made up of ex-prisoners, murderers and generally the worst of society, is largely held responsible for most of the alleged war crimes committed in the Ukraine invasion.
It has also just, this week, been designated as an official terror group by the UK Government, which will officially come into force on September 13.
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If found to be a member or even associated with the group, you could end up being thrown into prison for 14 years.
And ISIS, which has been on the official UK terror group list for several years, is known worldwide as being one of, if not the worst terror group of all time.
The two groups have actually faced off one before, in Syria in 2017, with neither side really gaining any kind of advantage over the other.
But who would win in an all-out battle for supremacy in the 'Battle of the Bad Guys' in today's world?
Well, for Professor Anthony Glees from the University of Buckingham, there is only one winner.
“ISIS would win, hands down,” he said.
“With Putin's murder of Yevgeny Prigozhin and Dmitry Utkin, Wagner forces not only lack a leader, they've become rebels without a cause, they no longer have the fanaticism that a cult ideology generates and which is key to victory in any gladiatorial conquest where the two opponents are equally matched in weaponry.
“Putin has killed their hero and his second in command – why would they sacrifice their lives for the man responsible?”
As for ISIS, while they're still causing untold terror in Iraq, they are far from the devastating terror group the world looked on in horror at over the last 20 years.
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And while Professor Glees as pinned his colours to the ISIS mast – for this battle, not actually to ISIS – the reason behind it is the polar opposite to why Wagner would lose.
This, he claims, is something akin to Hitler's army of Nazis in the Second World War.
He explained: “ISIS (and any Islamist terror group) can always rely on an interpretation of Islam (which we believe to be wrong) that not only justifies extreme violence but promises 72 virgins to those killed carrying out a terror attack.
“Wagner terrorists get nothing at all if they are killed in similar circumstances – an unmarked grave in the fields of Ukraine, not even a sexy night with Putin or his henchmen beforehand, let alone 72 virgins.
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“The history of the end of WW2 in Germany shows that German soldiers fought with extreme fanaticism, many were content to get killed, in the belief that their beloved Fuehrer Adolf Hitler might live if they died.
“Once Hitler topped himself, Frau Hitler and Blondi the dog, the Nazi soldiers had nothing to fight for and the Allies swept to victory.”
The conundrum both groups face is the reality of life without a lead – or a real human leader in the case of ISIS.
But for one group, a religious ideology is better than no ideology at all.
“Islamists will never stop fighting for their Prophet who went straight to heaven on his charger, according to their belief – he will always be there for them,” he added.
“But Prigozhin and Utkin will be deemed by Wagner to be burning in hell and smirking Putin who killed them will not be worth dying for.”
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