IS has thousands of European fighters

(Baonghean.vn)- The European Union (EU)'s counter-terrorism coordinator Gilles de Kerchove said the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group still has about 2,500 European fighters.

IS has thousands of European fighters. Photo AP

In an interview with the German daily Welt published on September 12, Mr. Kerchove asserted that IS once had about 5,000 European fighters in Iraq and Syria. About 1,500 fighters have returned home and another 1,000 have been killed.

Many of the remaining fighters are likely to die in battle or be killed by IS for deserting, while some may move to other conflict zones, such as Somalia or Yemen, he said.

According to US estimates, IS has up to 13,000 fighters remaining in Syria and Iraq. Mr. Kerchove said that IS losing control of its lands will not end the terrorist threat created by this group./.

Lan Ha

(According to AP)