Report: In 18 months, number of foreign fighters in Syria, Iraq doubled

A new report says that the number of foreign fighters traveling to Syria and Iraq to fight for the Islamic State and other militant groups has more than doubled over the last 18 months.

The Soufan Group, an international consultancy firm based in New York, used UN data, figures from official government estimates, and academic resources to come up with their findings. In June 2014, 12,000 foreign fighters in the region were identified, and now, there are 27,000 to 31,000 from 86 different countries. Tunisia has the largest number of recruits, about 6,000, followed by Saudi Arabia with 2,500; Russia with 2,400; Turkey with 2,100; and Jordan with 2,000, Newsweek reports. About 120 fighters left the U.S. to fight in Syria and Iraq, the report says, and 40 have returned.

The number of recruits from Russia and Central Asia are up nearly 300 percent, and the number of fighters from Western Europe has more than doubled. The fear is that more and more will return to their home countries, the report says, with 20 to 30 percent of those Western Europe recruits already back. Recruits are on "a search for belonging, purpose, adventure, and friendship," the report says, and those "appear to remain the main reasons for people to join the Islamic State, just as they remain the least addressed issues in the international fight against terrorism."

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