A closer look at Syrias foreign fighters (ISIS and Jabhat Al-Nusra): A special report by Tahrir Souri @TharirSy: Ever since the Syrian people, represented by the Free Syrian Army, waged war against ISIS in early 2014, the numbers of members fighting under the banner of the Al-Qaeda backed group decreased considerably. According to sources familiar with the situation in Syria, there are currently 2500-3000 ISIS troops in Syria, after a large number of fighters deserted the group, joined other factions or were held captive by opposition forces. Foreign fighters make up the majority, or 75%, of ISIS troops. Most of the foreign fighters associated with ISIS are originally from Tunisia, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Geographically, ISIS is largely predominante in the eastern province of Al-Raqqa, in addition to the Salt Mine region of western Deir Ezzor and the city of Markada in Al-Hasakah, which separates the provinces of Deir Ezzor and Al-Hasakah. As for Jabhat Al-Nusra, it boasts 8000-8500 fighters, of which Syrians make up over 60%, according to several members of the group. However, it should be noted that there exists numerous foreign leaders, mostly Saudis and Iraqis, who are usually tasked of military panning, while its Syrian members are responsible for dealing with locals, which mostly concern civic issues. Al-Nusra is mainly based in Deir Ezzor, Aleppo, Lattakia, Damascus Countryside and Al-Hasakah.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 06:59:31 +0000