Russian Becomes One of Main Daesh Propaganda Languages

Col. Gen. Andrei Novikov, the head of the CIS Anti-Terrorist Center said that the Russian language is becoming, alongside Arabic and English, the main language of Daesh propaganda.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian, along with Arabic and English, is becoming one of the languages most commonly used by the Islamic State (ISIL), also known as Daesh, terrorist group, to spread propaganda, the head of the CIS Anti-Terrorist Center said Wednesday.

"According to experts, the Russian language is becoming, alongside Arabic and English, the main language of Daesh [Arabic name for IS] propaganda," Col. Gen. Andrei Novikov said at a CIS Anti-Terrorist Center meeting.

This reflects the jihadist group's intention to attract Russian-speaking volunteers from Russia and the Central Asian region, Novikov added, as well as the fact that these states are among Daesh' targets.

Novikov also called for migration controls to be tightened and for international cooperation to be enhanced, as many Daesh recruits are abandoning Syria as a result of the Russian airstrikes against terrorist positions in the war-torn country, and are returning home, including to the CIS.

The head of the CIS center said that the total number of citizens from CIS countries who are wanted for terrorism-related crimes, including collaboration, currently stands at 4,262.