News / A Simple Question

More Britons joining extremist groups in Iraq and Syria

Sunday, 28 August 2016 7:28 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 28 August 2016 7:38 AM ]

This screenshot reportedly shows the British boy identified as Abu Abdullah al-Britani.

The number of Britons who have left the country to join Daesh and similar extremist groups in the Middle East is on the rise, according to a new report.

An estimated 850 Britons have gone to fight alongside Daesh or other terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq, according to The Guardian. In January, the British government put the figure at about 800. The Guardian estimates that about 100 of them have been killed.

Of the remaining 750 Britons, roughly half have returned to the UK and half remain in Syria and Iraq. Hundreds of others have been stopped before leaving the UK or during passage through Turkey, which is the main access route.

Most of them are thought to have been under the age of 30. Of the estimated 850 Britons who have joined Daesh, more than 50 are women, according to UK police.

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