Two Belgians leave for Syria a week

The number of Belgians travelling to Syria to join Islamic State militants is two per week, according to Islamic studies expert Pieter Van Ostaeyen, quoted in the Belgian Daily Het Laatste Nieuws on Tuesday.

According to Van Ostaeyen, the number of people who have travelled from Belgium to join the militants has now risen to 481. He says that 55 of those have been killed.

The figures collected by Van Ostaeyen relate to all those who have travelled to Syria or Iraq, since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in March 2011. The analysis also includes those who left Belgium, but did not reach their intended destination.

According to Van Ostaeyen's research, 90 percent are men, with an average age of 25. The majority depart from Brussels, followed by the cities of Antwerp and Vilvoorde. While most join Islamic State, others have also joined the ranks of al-Nusra Front, the Syrian branch of al-Qaida.

The Belgian authorities say its total figure is lower than Van Ostaeyen's, but concurred that every week, two Belgians leave the country to fight jihad.

According to the Belgian Ministry of the Interior, the number of people travelling abroad to join militant groups is around 380. Of these, about 200 are currently in Syria or Iraq, around 100 have returned, and roughly 50 have been killed. A further 40 Belgians were also apprehended at the Turkish-Syrian border.

Belgium has been on high security alert since police broke up a major jihadist network in January.

According to the London-based International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR), Belgium has the highest number of jihadist recruits per capita in western Europe. Enditem