A report by the United Nations has cautioned that Iraq and Syria have becoming ‘international fishing school’ for extremists. The reported further pointed the demographic of the recruited fighters is falling to teenagers as young as 15. The numbers of people being radicalized to join various terrorist outfits are increasing from the traditional locals to an increased number of foreign fighters.
The UN report that was presented to the Security Council late last month said that the constant flow of foreign fighters into Syria and Iraq was presenting an immediate and long term threat to the larger international community.
Despite the strengthened joint efforts to fight the Islamic State, a military defeat could bring unintended consequences of dispensing violent extremists into the world which could be equally as dangerous seeing as it could increase the lone wolf attacks.
Over 25,000 foreigners from over 100 countries are reported to have traveled between mid-2014 and March 2015 to join Al-Qaeda, Islamic State and other terrorist groups in the Middle East. This is a 71% increase from the previously recorded.
Most of the foreign fighters draw from Russia, Morocco, Tunisia, and France, recently the number from Australia is on the upward trend. The reasons for radicalization in the said countries are for different reasons but most of the recruiters target the vulnerable and somewhat hopeless.
Prevention of radicalization, recruitment and travel of prospective fighters is the most effective way to deal with this emergent challenge in the fight against extremism as pointed by the report.
Intervention programs and center were already running or in the final stages of being set up in all jurisdictions to deal with the menace.
