Brad Power

The Islamic State's European Mudjahedins Brad Power

In the summer of 2012, the first reports emerged of so-called "foreign fighters" (FF) leaving their country of origin or habitual residence to join the Syrian uprising against the Assad regime. Since then, the number of these "travellers" to the Syrian, and more recently, Iraqi battlefields has grown significantly: From September 2014 to September 2015 alone, the number of FF reportedly doubled and reached 30,000 combatants coming from 104 countries. Some countries are directly affected by the FF issue by foiled or successful attacks, others by being transit countries or departing bases for non-national fighters. While the phenomenon of FF is not new, the sheer size and widespread origins has given the phenomenon a whole new dimension.