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Central Asian Youths Found Among Fighters In Syria


Fighters from the Islamist Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra on the front line during a clash with Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo in December.
Fighters from the Islamist Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra on the front line during a clash with Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo in December.
DUSHANBE -- Officials from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have confirmed that nationals from both those countries have been found recently fighting on the side of the rebels in Syria's ongoing civil war.

The government in Dushanbe says three Tajiks fighting on the side of Islamist rebels in Syria were recently killed.

Tajik State Committee for National Security spokesman Emom Melikov also said on May 23 that authorities have managed in recent years to bring back some 2,000 Tajik youths from Islamic schools abroad.

FEATURE: Families Fear Kyrgyz Sons Are Making Way To Syrian Battlefield

Officials in neighboring Kyrgyzstan meanwhile said the following day that two Kyrgyz men who were fighting with Islamist rebels were brought back from Syria by Kyrgyz security officers this week.

Kyrgyzstan's State Committee for National Security says the leadership of the Spiritual Directorate of Kyrgyz Muslims has been asked to focus on prevention of radical Islam propaganda among youth.

Kyrgyz media reports say there are many Kyrgyz nationals in Syria fighting on the side of Islamist antigovernment forces.

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