Up to 2,000 Russians fighting for ISIL: Official
A senior Russian official says up to 2,000 Russians are fighting in the ranks of the Takfiri ISIL terrorist group, expressing concern over the threat posed by the militants upon returning to their home country.
Russian Deputy Security Council Secretary Yevgeniy Lukyanov made the remarks in an interview with Interfax news agency on the sidelines of an international conference on security in Russia’s southern city of Ulan-Ude on Wednesday.
"According to various estimations, up to 2,000 citizens of Russia, mainly people from the Northern Caucasus and other regions, have been fighting there for a long time," Lukyanov said.
He further voiced concern about the threat that ISIL returnees pose to the Russian Federation, adding that the militants are introducing themselves as tourists to Russian embassies in a bid to obtain the documents to go back home.
"The return to Russia of the militants, who are citizens of our country, will also be a problem. And they are already returning. They are infiltrating through the Turkish border, saying they are tourists who have lost their passports, they are going to our diplomatic missions to get documents to return," the official added.
Meanwhile, in a separate development on Wednesday, the head of Germany's domestic intelligence agency (BfV) raised concern over a surge in the number of women thought to be fighting in the ranks of ISIL in Syria and Iraq.
Hans-Georg Maassen said that women comprise approximately 100 out of the 700 Germans fighting alongside ISIL in the two countries, adding that half of the female terrorists are aged below 25.
The ISIL terrorists currently control parts of eastern Syria and Iraq’s northern and western regions.
This is while the Western governments have contributed to the rise of ISIL by sponsoring the militants fighting against the government of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria since 2011.
SSM/HMV/HRB
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