Over 30,000 militants traveled to Iraq, Syria in 4 years: Report

More than 30,000 people from across the world have traveled to Syria and Iraq over the past four years to fight along the Takfiri groups in the region, a report says.

The Tuesday report by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) think-tank said about 8,000 citizens of European countries have joined the ranks of militants in Syria and Iraq since 2011.

The report, which is based on estimates of the Global Terrorism Index, also stated that about 15,000 came from the neighboring countries of the two Arab states and also from North Africa, a region which has itself been gripped by deadly militancy over the past years.

About 7,000 of the entire figure traveled to Iraq and Syria in the first six months of 2015, the report said, showing that the flow does not appear to be diminishing.

The report also calculated the number of lives claimed across the world by terrorist activities, saying 32,658 people were killed last year, which shows an 80-percent increase compared to 2013. It said the total economic cost of these terror attacks reached an all-time high of USD 52.9 billion in 2014.

The statistics come amid a heated international debate about the rising threat of terrorism emanating from Syria, as the November 13 attacks in Paris, which were claimed by the Daesh Takfiri terrorists, killed over 130.

Many say Western governments, including those in Europe, are to blame for their lax control over the past years on the movement of their nationals into Iraq and Syria, saying these European militants could pose huge security risks upon their return home in the future.

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