Among the 280 dead fighters in Syria whose cases were examined, the largest single contingent — 60 — came from Libya, and the second-largest group — 47 — came from Tunisia. The third largest group of dead foreign fighters in Syria consisted of 44 Saudis, followed by 32 Jordanians, 27 Egyptians, 20 Lebanese, seven Russians, five Kuwaitis, five Chechens, and three Iraqis. Nicole Lynn Mansfield of Flint, Michigan, a convert to Islam, was killed last week in the company of Syrian rebels in Idlib province, Syrian state media said. Former US soldier Eric Harroun was arrested on his return to the United States in March and charged with conspiring to use a rocket-propelled grenade in Syria. Investigators said he acknowledged fighting with Syrian rebels, including the Nusra Front, which Washington says is a branch of Al Qaeda. US officials and experts say there is little hard information on other Americans who have gone to Syria to fight. By contrast, foreign fighters from other countries are flocking to join the rebels in Syria, inspired by Saudi Salafist Jihadist ideology and generous funding from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other pro-Wahhabi countries. One expert who monitors US militant activities and websites, up to 20 American Wahhabi Deobandi Muslims may have gone to Syria. A US security official said there was no formal US government tally of how many Americans had gone to Syria to fight Assad but that the best current estimate was “a handful.” According to a new study about foreign fighters reported killed in the Syrian conflict, the largest contingents of Jihadist foreigners participating in the conflict come from neighbouring countries. The study said the death toll also included single foreign fighters from countries including Denmark, France, Uzbekistan, Ireland, Morocco, Algeria, Kosovo, Turkey, Bulgaria, Britain and the United States, as well as three from Dagestan and two Australians. The study authors also stated that the “lion’s share” of foreign fighters who died in Syria did so while fighting with the most hardline Wahhabi-Salafist organisation involved in the uprising, namely the Nusra Front, known in Arabic as Jabhat Al Nusra, aka Al Qaeda in Syria.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 09:19:13 +0000
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