MOSCOW, November 30 (Sputnik) — German authorities are conducting an investigation into some 300 people who may be linked with the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, Welt am Sonntag reported Sunday, citing German Minister of Justice Heiko Maas.
"Germany's attorney general and prosecutors of federal states are currently carrying out a probe into about 300 accused of having links with the IS," the minister was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
Last week, head of Germany's domestic security agency Hans-Georg Maassen told Welt am Sonntag that at least 60 German citizens died while fighting for the IS, adding that approximately 550 German nationals have recently left for Iraq and Syria to join the armed conflict.
The IS insurgent group has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012. In June 2014 the group proclaimed a caliphate over the vast areas it seized across Iraq and Syria. A US-led coalition is currently conducting airstrikes against the insurgents in both countries.
According to UN October estimates, some 15,000 foreign fighters from 80 countries have entered Syria and Iraq to join the IS or other extremist groups since the Syrian Civil War broke out in 2011.
