Russia became the main supplier of foreign mercenaries for IG*, bypassing countries such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan

In Moscow, they doubted the reliability of the data of the American consulting group Soufan Group, which published the Beyond The Caliphat study (“outside the boundaries of the caliphate”). But the report is not devoted to statistics, but what to do with the militants and their families, returning from Syria and Iraq to their countries.

*IG, ISIS - the names of the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in Russia

Terrorist International

According to this year, 8717 people from Russia and the former Soviet republics are fighting in the ranks of jihadists. 5718 Mercenaries represent Western Europe in IS. The USA and Canada are in the very tail of the list - “total” 439 recruits.

The head of the American center, which published a report, is a person “very famous in narrow circles” exploration specialists. Ali Sawfan, a former FBI agent, Livanets by birth, was investigating the attacks of September 11. As the American media write, if the CIA had timely presented him with information about the conspirators, saofan may have been able to prevent the attack on the twin tower 16 years ago. The headquarters of his organization is located in New York, and branches work in London, Doha and Singapore.

American experts note that when drawing up such a report inaccuracies in numbers are inevitable. Data on Russia dates from March 2016, more fresh numbers are presented for most other countries. For example, in June of this year, the Turkish authorities introduced the names of 53,781 people from 146 countries - potential volunteers who, through the country's territory, can go to Jihad to Syria and Iraq.

What to do with those who returned?

The main part of the report is devoted to the threat, which are the fighters of the “terrorist international”, their wives and children who returned to their countries. According to the American center, over 5,600 citizens from 33 countries have already returned from Syria and Iraq. The interpol database contains the names of 19 thousand people who fought under the banners of the IG at different times.

According to Soufan Group, 400 people who fought for the Islamists returned to Russia, 760 to Saudi Arabia, 250 in Jordan, 800 in Tunisia, 271 in France.

Different countries have developed their approaches to solving the problem of “returners”. For example, in Denmark, Belgium and other European countries, the authorities went through the adaptation (“rehabilitation and integration”) of former mercenaries. To those who were not noticed directly in the battles, local authorities with the help of public organizations assigned social workers, the state arranged former "jihadists" for professional courses and provided them with work.

In France, the authorities have already admitted that this program failed. And in Britain, the current Minister of International Development Rory Stuart made a “murderous recognition”: “We must seriously relate to the fact that these people (who fought in the IG) are a mortal danger to us, and, unfortunately, the only way to deal with them in almost every case is to kill them.”

From January to September this year, 12 attacks of terrorists were noted in France, in the UK from April to June - three of the and five and five -opened specialist services, in Germany - 5 attacks last year. Türkiye - 22 terrorist attacks last year and 14 - in this. IS takes responsibility for terrorist attacks in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Libya, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Somalia, Sweden and Yemen. Many of them participated by militants who returned from Syria and Iraq. According to one of the British mercenaries of the IG, despite the failures of the ISIS, on the territory of Syria, the training of foreign mercenaries continues in order to carry out terrorist attacks in the countries where they are returning.

"Brides of Jihad" and "Caliphate Lion"

A separate role is played by women and children. As the combat situation worsened, a woman from concubines, nurses and teachers were “retrained” in snipers and marten.

For this, the Islamists created the female battalion of al-Khansaa, in which there were originally 35 representatives from 9 countries, including 9 Chechens. The number of a female unit based in Racca reached 600 people this year.

British BBC TV channel devoted the film “Terror Learning” in the military training of children in IG units. The hero of one of the plots of Mutassim is a 16-year-old teenager who has passed the accelerated (only 15 days) course of a young fighter in Syria. Rise at 4 in the morning with prayer, combat training, study of the laws of Sharia. The teenager saw near the “wrong” chopping off their heads. When one of the foreign mercenaries began to beat the Syrian wife, something “clicked” in Mutassim’s head: he saw that the words and ideas of the IG militants diverge from their actions. Having paid to smugglers 3 thousand euros, with a fake Spanish passport, a teenager through Turkey and Greece moved to Germany. He admitted to reporters that he was afraid, no matter how the German authorities were expelled from the country.

According to Soufan Group, there are now over 350 children from Russia on the territory of the IS.

Guantanamo's experience

As the experience of the Center on the basis in Guantanamo showed, the fate of seven Russian prisoners captured by the Americans in Afghanistan and in 2004 without charging issued to the Russian authorities was not easy.

Ravil Gumarov and Timur Ishmuradov in April 2005 were arrested on charges of involvement in the undermining of the gas pipeline in Bugulm (Tatarstan), received 11 and 13 years of imprisonment, respectively.

Ayrat Vakhitov and Rustam Akhmyarov in August 2005 were detained in Moscow on suspicion of involvement in terrorist attacks in Tatarstan. They were freed for lack of evidence. According to media reports, Vakhitov later took the name “Salman Bulgarsky” and recruits militants to participate in the Syrian war.

Rasul Kudaev was arrested on October 23, 2005 in Kabardino-Balkaria on suspicion of participating in the attack of militants on Nalchik, received a life sentence.

Ruslan Odizhev was killed in 2007 during a special operation in Nalchik. According to the security forces, he was one of the leaders of the Kabardino-Balkarian jamaat.

Shamil Khazhiev (in the USA is called Almasam Sharipov) received a political asylum in the Netherlands, and Ravil Mingazov, who was released only in January of this year, wants to receive asylum in the UK.

And 400 Russians who have already returned from Syria and Iraq can become both a “slow -off bomb” and people who have crossed the past forever. The Soufan Group report is not about the numbers, it is still about the problem that is not yet solved: what to do with those who, having graduated from the “School of Terror”, returns home?