Some 760 German Citizens Joined Militants Fighting in Syria, Iraq

According to Germany’s interior minister, 760 of the country's citizens have traveled to Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State or terror groups.

BERLIN (Sputnik) — Around 760 German nationals have travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside militant groups there, including the violent Islamic State (IS), Germany’s Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said.

"As of now, 760 people, one-fifth of whom are women, have gone to Syria and Iraq to take part in military action alongside IS or other terror groups, or assist them in other ways," de Maiziere told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Of those, around 120 have died, the minister added. German security agencies are monitoring around 70 IS-linked jihadists that came back to Germany. Many of them are facing prison terms.

De Maiziere added the vast majority of Germans fighting in Syria and Iraq were men in their 20s who were raised in Germany and had German or double citizenship.

Germany has been providing logistical assistance to the US-led international coalition bombing IS positions in Syria and Iraq. But 48 percent of Germans now support the country's active military involvement, according to the latest YouGov poll.