MOSCOW, June 22. /TASS/, More than 1,000 Russians are fighting for the Islamic State and efforts to stop recruiting of volunteers to this terrorist organization are failing, Russian Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev said in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper published on Monday.
"I think more than a thousand [of Russian nationals are fighting for the Islamic State]. There are thousands of people from other countries, including Russia, Central Asia, Western Europe and the United States," he said.
He said he did not see how the flow of new recruits could be stopped. In his words, it was rooted in the double standards the West was practicing. "The thing is that the same Islamic State, when it is fighting against [Syrian President Bashar] Assad, is supported by the United States. And at the same time, they are bombing it. It will go on and on unless they stop these games," Patrushev said.
He said that Islamic State gunmen would be most dangerous when they returned home. "These people, as a rule, are included by extremist organizations into the so-called ‘dormant chapters.’ As local residents, they can easily integrate into society and pro forma observe all established norms and laws. But at a right moment, terrorist leaders can use these "law-abiding citizens’ to plot and commit terrorist attacks," he said.
"This threat is topical not only for Russia and its neighbours but for most of Eastern and Western European states. By the way, they have come to understand it now and are taking efforts to adjust their legislative base to expand the competences of their security services," he added.