3200 Russians joined ISIS since start of conflict: government

Baghdad – (IraqiNews.com) Russian nationals who joined the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria since the beginning of the conflict with the militant group stands at 3200, the Russian government said Monday.

“According to our estimates, the threat [for Russia] is posed by the militants of Russian origin, who have been trained in Iraq and Syria,” Ilya Rogachev, the Russian foreign ministry’s official for new threats and challenges, told RIA Novosti. “ According to the data of law enforcement agencies and security services, more than 3,200 Russian citizens have left for the conflict zone,” told RIA Novosti in an interview,” he said.

“The global terrorist threat has taken a new dimension because of the emergence and activities of the IS. Syria and Iraq are in the thick of the group’s activities.

A United Nations report released in May 2015 had said that the total number of those fighters stood at 30.000.

Later reports in 2016 said 30 percent of those returned to their home countries, where they started to pose a security threat.