3000 Russian citizens joined terrorist groups

Around 3,000 Russian citizens joined international terrorist organizations, first deputy chairman of the National Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAC) Yevgeny Ilin said on May 25. TASS reports.

“There is data on almost 3,000 Russians that supported the extremist ideology and went abroad to join international terrorist organizations,” he said.

He told that generally participants are from Northern Caucasus and younger people from poor families are joining terrorist groups.

Russia, like other countries around the world, has been exposed to the risk of becoming a potential recruiting ground for radical Islamist networks. The Russian Interior Ministry said last December that up to 2,000 Russian nationals were estimated to be involved in the activities of the Islamic State terrorist group, outlawed in Russia, which is operating primarily in Iraq and Syria, Sputnik reports.