5600 Foreign Fighters Have Returned from ISIS-Controlled Areas to Their Countries

A security consulting institute states that at least 5600 nationals from 33 different countries have returned to their home countries after spending time in areas controlled by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria. The Soufan Group, based in New York, published a report on Tuesday stating that the potential return of an unspecified number of foreign fighters poses a significant challenge for the law enforcement and security agencies of these countries. According to the Associated Press, the institute, which studies the activities of extremist Islamist groups, noted: "The willingness and readiness of these returning fighters to reorganize, recruit, and rebuild what they have lost is uncertain." The institute reports that before and after the declaration of the self-proclaimed caliphate by ISIS in June 2014, over 40,000 foreign fighters from 110 countries joined the ranks of this group. Among them, approximately 5,718 are from European countries, over 8,700 from former Soviet states, and 439 from North America. In the last two years of battles to reclaim most of the areas previously controlled by ISIS, thousands of fighters from this group have been killed, and many of those returning to their countries may be disillusioned with the group. However, the Soufan Group's report indicates that it is not unlikely that some of these individuals still wish to continue armed and violent jihad. According to this security consulting institute, some ISIS fighters have already joined extremist Islamist groups active in the Philippines, the Sinai region of Egypt, Afghanistan, and Libya.