About 2,000 Russians have left their country for Syria and Iraq, including to join the ranks of the ISIL terrorist group, Head of Russia’s Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs Igor Barinov said on Thursday.
"We have, according to various estimates, about 2,000 people who have already left for Syria, Iraq, ISIL" Barinov said.
He added that the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs is cooperating with Russia’s special services on the creation of a unique system that could analyze internet website and mass media in order to detect extremist and terrorist propaganda and later block internet resources that include "dangerous content".
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is a Takfiri terrorist group that operates mainly in Iraq and Syria.
Affiliated ISIL groups operate in North Africa, Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The militants, who recruit young fighters from across the globe using social media, are known for their grave human rights violations, such as mass killings and beheadings.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) estimates that about 1,700 Russians have been recruited by ISIL.
On Wednesday, FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov said that citizens from more than 100 countries are currently fighting among the ranks of the ISIL.
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