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71 people leave Switzerland for fight in conflict zones

Xinhua, December 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Swiss Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) indicated on Thursday that since 2001, a total of 71 people have left Switzerland to fight in conflict zones, a figure that remained unchanged since September this year.

Official statistics show that 57 individuals left the confederation to join militant factions in Syria and Iraq, while 14 joined the ranks of groups located in Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

FIS indicated that 15 out the 71 individuals are thought to have died, with the remaining 56 either still circulating in conflict zones or back on Swiss soil.

According to FIS, 25 individuals are Swiss nationals though 16 of the latter also hold a second passport.

No further indications regarding the identity, age, sex, nationality or residence of these individuals were provided by the Swiss intelligence service.

Figures for May 2013 revealed that only around 20 "jihad"-motivated departures from Switzerland had been recorded since 2001, with numbers doubling by the following year to finally reach 71 in September 2015. Endit