RABAT, January 26. /TASS/. The number of supporters of the terrorist organization Islamic State (banned in Russia) has surged nearly fivefold over the past year, reaching nearly 10,000, according to a press release issued by Hamid al-Shatri, head of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS).

As reported by the Iraqi television channel As-Sumaria, al-Shatri stated, "The number of IS fighters has increased from approximately 2,000 a year ago to almost 10,000 today." He emphasized that the ongoing developments in neighboring Syria and the rising support for IS directly and significantly threaten Iraq’s security.

Al-Shatri further explained that many of the new IS recruits are individuals previously associated with Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and the al-Qaeda terrorist network (banned in Russia). He also warned that the Al-Hol camp, which houses families of former IS fighters, along with the terrorist prisons in neighboring Syria, represent "time bombs." Any loss of control over these facilities could trigger a disaster for the entire region.