Finnish FM says about 100 Finns have joined IS: media

Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini said Monday that about 100 people have left Finland to join the Islamic State (IS), the extremist militant group, Finnish daily Iltasanomat reported.

International media revealed last week that 22,000 foreign fighters from at least 51 countries around the world have participated in the fighting for IS since the end of 2013, according to IS-related documents obtained by the German authorities.

Soini told the newspaper that around 100 Finns have travelled to the conflict areas in the Middle East to participate in jihad, and nearly 20 of them have died there.

According to official records of the Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo), 70 Finns have joined IS, and 15 to 18 have died in battles. Supo estimated that the actual numbers are likely bigger.

Soini expressed concerns about the situation, saying that it will be a great danger when the militants return to Finland.

"If they hatch plots or recruit others, we of course want to prevent them," he was quoted as saying.

The official also emphasized that it is important for Finland to be involved in international intelligence cooperation.

Soini, who is also the leader of Finns Party, said after a party council meeting on Saturday that Finland will be active in anti-terror operations by investing more in the training mission in Erbil, northern Iraq.

Finland sent nearly 50 peacekeepers to Iraq last summer to train Kurdish Peshmerga forces to fight against the IS militants in northern Iraq. Endit