June 19, 2014 | Quote
Are thousands of Westerners and Americans fighting with extremists in Iraq and Syria?
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As of December 2013, the center estimated there were upto 11,000 individuals from 74 countries in Syria — nearly double its April 2013 estimate. Between 600 and 1,900 of those are from Western Europe. Additionally, about 32 to 305 fighters hail from Australia and Canada. Foreign fighters from the United States made up a small piece, between 17 and 60.
The number has grown since December, said Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, the Director of the Center for the Study of Terrorist Radicalization at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, so the high-end estimates are well past 2,000 at this point. For example, French officials recently said they believe more than 700 of their residents have joined the conflict. The December estimate from King’s College London said 412 was the high figure..
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This scenario has apparently already been realized in Brussels, Belgium, the site of a deadly shooting at a Jewish museum. French authorities have arrested a suspect, a 29-year-old Frenchman who allegedly carried out the shooting after fighting with Islamist rebels in Syria.
So the threat is certainly real, particularly in Europe, Gartenstein-Ross said, where travel to and from the Middle East is logistically easier.
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