Who Are The Russian Nationals Fighting In Syria & Iraq?​

Last week, the head of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), Aleksandr Bortnikov, made a surprising announcement. The threat of the Islamic State (IS) group was of "such a serious nature" that the FSB deemed intelligence sharing with the United States "quite possible."

Bortnikov also told reporters at the Obama administration's antiextremism conference in Washington, D.C. that the FSB believes around 1,700 Russian nationals are currently fighting with militant groups in Syria and Iraq. The FSB chief's admission is a significant one when put into the context of the trend of playing down the number of Russian nationals fighting in Syria's armed civil conflict by others, particularly the pro-Moscow head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov.  

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