A number of foreign IDs were discovered by Kurdish forces, including the passports of several Russian citizens.
A correspondent from RT tracked down one passport which belonged to a Russian citizen named Alex, whose name has been changed due to security reasons.
Alex was born in the city of Volgograd in central Russia. His father is a respected professor in the university. Alex himself had a science degree, a good job, a loving wife and three children. Therefore, it came as a shock to Alex’s dad when he took his family and joined Daesh terrorists in Syria.
The RT correspondent met with Alex’s father in Volgograd. He said, “He ended up there along with his wife, his young children and what happened to them I don't know,” the father told Finoshina. “I tried to make him understand, I said: ‘Aren't you scared that your children, my grandchildren, will be killed for their organs?”
His father further said that Alex “converted to Islam a decade ago. One Egyptian, who was studying at the medical faculty and went to the gym with him, got him hooked.” Meanwhile Tamara “wasn't really into all that (Islam), she did it all for him,” according to her friend.
Daesh has deployed millions of dollars to organize online and in person recruitment campaigns worldwide, mostly focusing on outcast youths who are eager to give up their lives for the perverse jihadist ideology.
There are a large number of cells that operate in Muslim communities and religious centers. Some recruitment is also done through family and friends and always under a false pretext. A complex network helps recruits organize their travel from international destinations into Syria, usually via Turkey.
In the meantime, those who eventually return home become a direct threat to their countries. Europe is especially worried about the trend, as it is estimated that over 27,000 European fighters have travelled to Iraq and Syria since 2011.
