Published : Dec. 17, 2014 - 21:23
Amid the rise of Islamic State, or IS, the Jihadist militant group that has seized large swathes of Syria and Iraq, it was revealed that a significant number of IS fighters are neither Iraqi nor Syrian.
The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency estimated that more than 12,000 foreign nationals from at least 81 countries are a part of the radical Islamist group.
Most of the foreign IS fighters come from North Africa and the Middle East, with Tunisia (3,000) being the biggest exporter of the extremists. Saudi Arabia came in second at 2,500, followed by Jordan at 2,089 and Morocco at 1,500.
Despite the coalition of Western allies against IS, a quarter of its members are from Western countries including the U.K., the U.S., Australia and France.