CIS Security Chiefs to Discuss Islamic State Threat at Talks in Tajikistan

Top security officials from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will meet on Tuesday in Tajikistan to discuss joint efforts in countering threats posed by the advance of Islamic State extremists in the Middle East and North Africa, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The US Central Intelligence Agency's figures estimate the jihadist group's membership numbers in the 30,000s. In early April, FSB Director Sergei Smirnov said upwards of 300 Tajik nationals and approximately 1,700 Russian citizens may be among those in the ranks of Islamic State fighters.

"The meeting will focus on efforts to increase effectiveness of cooperation in countering terrorism and extremism, including the neutralization of potential threats to CIS countries posed by the Islamic State international terrorist organization," the FSB said in a statement.

The participating parties are also expected to take stock of implementing the 2014-2016 program of cooperation in the struggle against terrorism and other manifestations of violent extremism.

The Islamic State militant group's expansion, with the aim of establishing an Islamic caliphate in territories under its control, into significant portions of Syria and Iraq has become one of the world's major concerns in recent years.

Islamic State cells are known to operate in Libya and Yemen, among other Middle Eastern and North African states.