SOCHI (Sputnik) – People from over 100 countries fight alongside the Islamic State jihadist group, Russia's Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika said Tuesday.
“Today people from over 100 countries are fighting within ISIL, and their share among the militants exceeds 40 percent,” Chaika said at a conference of the International Association of Prosecutors in the southwestern Russian city of Sochi.
Around 7,000 Russian and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) nationals have joined ISIL ranks, the deputy head of the Russian Federal Security Service, Yevgen Sysoyev, said at the conference.
In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that it was imperative for CIS states to collectively prevent ISIL militants from returning home to perform violent acts.
Russia launched precision airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria on September 30, following a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad.
