Around 930 French citizens or residents, including at least 60 women, are either actively engaged in jihad in Iraq and Syria or are planning to go there, the interior minister said Sunday, reports FRANCE 24.
“930 French citizens or foreigners usually resident in France are today involved in jihad in Iraq and Syria,” said interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve in an interview with French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche.
“350 are on the ground, including 60 women. Around 180 have left from Syria and 170 are en route for the zone,” he added.
In addition, some 230 people are currently looking to head to areas held by jihadists. An estimated additional 36 have already died in jihadist-held areas and are not included in the 930, said Cazeneuve.
One chilling example of a European involved in the conflict is the man who carried out the apparent beheading of British aid worker David Haines in a video released by the Islamic State group. The man speaks with a British accent.
France’s announcement comes on the eve of a conference on Iraqi security set for September 15 in Paris. French President François Hollande recently promised to increase French military aid to Iraq to help the country in its battle against a jihadist insurgency by the Islamic State (IS) organisation.
France has already said it would take part in military action against Islamic State fighters in Iraq as part of a coalition being formed by Washington.
Read more of this report from FRANCE 24.