Around 3,000 Russian citizens joined terrorist groups abroad — anti-terrorist committee
Most of those who joined terrorist groups came from the North Caucasian Federal District, were people in their 20s, with financial problems, and poorly educated
KRASNOYARSK, May 25. /TASS/. Around 3,000 Russian citizens went abroad to join international terrorist organizations, first deputy chairman of the National Anti-Terrorist Committee (NAC) Yevgeny Ilin said on Wednesday.
"There is data on almost 3,000 Russians that supported extremist ideology and went abroad to join international terrorist organizations," Ilin told a conference in Krasnoyarsk.
According to Ilin, most of those who joined terrorist groups came from the North Caucasian Federal District. Most of them are people in their 20s, with financial problems, and poorly educated, he noted.
The NAC official said that they mostly get to the territory of "increased terrorist activity" (certain parts of Syria and Iraq) through Turkey and Egypt. They come from Russia, through Azerbaijan, Belarus and Ukraine, claiming they arrived for vacation, business or educational purposes.
The scientific-practical conference "Information space: new terrorist challenges and modern methods to counter them" takes place on Wednesday in Krasnoyarsk in the framework of the forum "Modern Security Systems - Ceounter-Terrorism."