Photo Gallery Foreign Jihadists in Syria
Members of a jihadist group near Aleppo: The civil war in Syria is attracting more and more fighters from abroad.
Jamal Mohammed Abdelkader, a 24-year-old Canadian, was one of them. He teamed up with an al-Qaida-affiliated group in Syria and died fighting soon thereafter in Damascus.
Radicalized fighters in Aleppo: Most of the foreign jihadists are between 18 and 24 years old. Many are from Arab countries or have Muslim families, though some are converts.
A jihadist fighter reads the Koran next to the body of a civilian killed in fighting in Aleppo in August 2012. The jihadists primarily come from the Gulf states, but also from North Africa, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Germany. Some also come from North America.
A recently published study estimates that there are now between 2,000 and 5,500 foreign jihadists in Syria, and the EU's top terrorism officials have stated that at least 500 of those come from EU countries. Officials fear that these guest warriors are gaining weapons know-how and ties with other extremists, and that they might bring jihad when they return home.
