Foreign Fighters To Syria

The US Justice Department said Thursday that it brought home 27 Americans who went to Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State group, as Washington again urged other nations to do the same.

An estimated 40,000 people traveled from around the world to take up arms for the ISIS as it occupied territory in Syria and Iraq and declared a caliphate in 2014.

When the Islamic State advanced in Syria and Iraq in 2014, its fighters looted banks, took over oil fields and kidnapped foreigners, seemingly without facing much resistance. But fortunes have changed, and the caliphate is now in deep financial trouble, according to a new study.

Two men were arrested in Australia Thursday on suspicion of breaching the country's foreign fighter laws, with one to be charged with joining the Al-Nusra Front in Syria.

As the ISIS group sees its territory shrink to half its original size and its dreams of a caliphate evaporate, the extremist fighters are losing access to the sources of revenue that once gave them their power, prompting them to turn to extortion, kidnapping or foreign donations.

Turkish-based rebel fighters will advance to Al-Bab after seizing the emblematic northern town of Dabiq from the ISIS, the Turkish foreign minister said on Sunday.

Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists are training the children of foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq to create the "next generation" of militants, according to a latest European report.

The first person charged in Australia with recruiting and sending fighters to Syria was convicted on Tuesday of recruiting six foreign fighters.

Russia called on Thursday for the closing of the Turkey-Syrian border to prevent the ISIS and the Al-Nusra Front extremist groups from receiving foreign fighters and weapons into Syria - and from exporting oil, artifacts and other goods.

Belgian police today arrested ten people in the Brussels area who were allegedly part of a network recruiting people to fight with ISIS in Syria, prosecutors said.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the US wants Turkey to better control its border with Syria, which could help block the flow of foreign fighters to the ISIS, and to more forcefully join the US-led coalition "in the air and on the ground."

The number of foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria has more than doubled since last year to at least 27,000, a report by an intelligence consultancy said Tuesday, highlighting the global dimension of the conflict.

Turkey's downing of a Russian fighter jet "sends the wrong message to the terrorists" in Syria, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov late Tuesday.

NATO head Jens Stoltenberg will meet Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu on Monday to discuss the situation in Syria, the alliance said, after Ankara intercepted a Russian fighter in its airspace.

Nearly 30,000 foreigners, including more than 250 Americans, have joined Islamic State and other militant groups to fight in Syria and Iraq, double the number a year ago, a congressional study released today showed.

The US Justice Department said Thursday that it brought home 27 Americans who went to Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State group, as Washington again urged other nations to do the same.

An estimated 40,000 people traveled from around the world to take up arms for the ISIS as it occupied territory in Syria and Iraq and declared a caliphate in 2014.

When the Islamic State advanced in Syria and Iraq in 2014, its fighters looted banks, took over oil fields and kidnapped foreigners, seemingly without facing much resistance. But fortunes have changed, and the caliphate is now in deep financial trouble, according to a new study.

Two men were arrested in Australia Thursday on suspicion of breaching the country's foreign fighter laws, with one to be charged with joining the Al-Nusra Front in Syria.

As the ISIS group sees its territory shrink to half its original size and its dreams of a caliphate evaporate, the extremist fighters are losing access to the sources of revenue that once gave them their power, prompting them to turn to extortion, kidnapping or foreign donations.

Turkish-based rebel fighters will advance to Al-Bab after seizing the emblematic northern town of Dabiq from the ISIS, the Turkish foreign minister said on Sunday.

Islamic State (ISIS) terrorists are training the children of foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq to create the "next generation" of militants, according to a latest European report.

The first person charged in Australia with recruiting and sending fighters to Syria was convicted on Tuesday of recruiting six foreign fighters.

Russia called on Thursday for the closing of the Turkey-Syrian border to prevent the ISIS and the Al-Nusra Front extremist groups from receiving foreign fighters and weapons into Syria - and from exporting oil, artifacts and other goods.

Belgian police today arrested ten people in the Brussels area who were allegedly part of a network recruiting people to fight with ISIS in Syria, prosecutors said.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the US wants Turkey to better control its border with Syria, which could help block the flow of foreign fighters to the ISIS, and to more forcefully join the US-led coalition "in the air and on the ground."

The number of foreign fighters in Iraq and Syria has more than doubled since last year to at least 27,000, a report by an intelligence consultancy said Tuesday, highlighting the global dimension of the conflict.

Turkey's downing of a Russian fighter jet "sends the wrong message to the terrorists" in Syria, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov late Tuesday.

NATO head Jens Stoltenberg will meet Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu on Monday to discuss the situation in Syria, the alliance said, after Ankara intercepted a Russian fighter in its airspace.

Nearly 30,000 foreigners, including more than 250 Americans, have joined Islamic State and other militant groups to fight in Syria and Iraq, double the number a year ago, a congressional study released today showed.