KUALA LUMPUR (Sputnik) — Some 25,000-30,000 foreign fighters, including from the Pacific Rim countries and Russia, currently fight for the Islamic State (ISIL) militant group, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Wednesday.
"Today, about 25,000-30,000 foreign fighters from the Pacific Rim countries and, unfortunately, from Russia, fight for ISIL. If they return home, carrying violence and extremism, they will promote radical ideas in our countries or become the organizers of sabotage," Antonov said at the third ASEAN Ministerial Meeting.
The Islamic State militant group, which has occupied vast territories of Syria and Iraq since 2014, has reportedly recruited hundreds of fighters from all over the world.
