WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Approximately 36,000 foreign fighters have been recruited by Daesh of which of 6,000 are from western countries, according to White House Deputy Assistant to the President Sebastian Gorka.
He also said that Daesh uses the idea of a last opportunity to engage in jihad before Judgement Day as a propaganda tool to recruit foreign fighters.
"We are building a global database of known foreign fighters, now with 18,000 verified names with the support of our Coalition partner Interpol," McGurk announced.
The US-led coalition of 72 members is conducting airstrikes, ground-based and rocket-propelled artillery fire against Daesh in Syria and Iraq. The strikes in Iraq are conducted in support of the Iraqi government, but those in Syria are not authorized by the UN Security Council or the government of President Bashar Assad.