MOSCOW (Sputnik) – About 2,000 Russians have left their country for Syria and Iraq, including to join the ranks of the radical ISIL organization, Head of Russia’s Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs Igor Barinov said in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper.
"We have, according to various estimates, about 2,000 people who have already left for Syria, Iraq, ISIL" Barinov said on Thursday.
He added that the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs is cooperating with Russia’s special services on the creation of a unique system that could analyze internet website and mass media in order to detect extremist and terrorist propaganda and later block internet resources that include "dangerous content."
According to Barinov, the Muslim community in Russia also plays a crucial role in preventing the spread of radical Islam.
"We are certainly ready to cooperate with them as much as necessary, including in what concerns preparation and retraining of religious workers who need to be able to withstand a fight against propagators of false belief for the minds and souls of young believers," Barinov said.
Affiliated ISIL groups operate in North Africa, Yemen, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The militants, who recruit young fighters from across the globe using social media, are known for their grave human rights violations, such as mass killings and beheadings.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) estimates that about 1,700 Russians have been recruited by Islamic State.
On Wednesday, FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov said that citizens from more than 100 countries are currently fighting among the ranks of the ISIL and the terrorist organization has taken the upper hand in propaganda.
