THE MIGHTY CALIPHATE WAR MACHINE:

It's been a tough week for the Islamic State group. First, one of its top leaders was killed in a coalition airstrike. Now reports have surfaced that its fighters are literally calling in sick over fears they might die.

Islamic State group militants near the Iraqi town of al-Shirqat, roughly 75 miles south of the key extremist stronghold of Mosul, are filing fake "sick notices" trying to convince their commanders they're suffering from incurable diseases, according to reports from Shiite militias fighting there, also known as the Popular Mobilization Units or PMUs. Low morale and a lack of faith in their commanders have prompted these fighters to do anything they can go get out of assignments to the crumbling front lines, the militia members say.

The news was first reported by Iranian news service Fars, run by the central government in Iran, which backs most of the PMUs.

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