‘15 Australian fighters killed in Iraq’
28 Aug 2014 12:16 AM GMT
Fifteen Australians, including two suicide bombers, are believed to have died fighting in Syria and Iraq, intelligence chief David Irvine said on Wednesday, while warning espionage and foreign intervention threats were increasing.
Canberra has expressed alarm that Australians have joined violent jihadist groups such as Islamic State (IS) overseas.
One Islamic State fighter, Australian man Khaled Sharrouf, sparked outrage when an image of his Sydney-raised son posing with the rotting head of a Syrian soldier was reportedly posted on Twitter.
‘The draw of foreign fighters to Syria and Iraq is significant and includes more Australians than any other previous extremist conflicts put together,’ Irvine said.
He said the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) believed the number of citizens posing a potential security threat had increased substantially as a result.
‘ASIO believes there are about 60 or so Australians fighting with the two principal extremist Al-Qaeda derivatives, Jahabat-al-Nusra and the Islamic State in Syria or Iraq,’ Irvine said.
Canberra has expressed alarm that Australians have joined violent jihadist groups such as Islamic State (IS) overseas.
One Islamic State fighter, Australian man Khaled Sharrouf, sparked outrage when an image of his Sydney-raised son posing with the rotting head of a Syrian soldier was reportedly posted on Twitter.
‘The draw of foreign fighters to Syria and Iraq is significant and includes more Australians than any other previous extremist conflicts put together,’ Irvine said.
He said the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) believed the number of citizens posing a potential security threat had increased substantially as a result.
‘ASIO believes there are about 60 or so Australians fighting with the two principal extremist Al-Qaeda derivatives, Jahabat-al-Nusra and the Islamic State in Syria or Iraq,’ Irvine said.
Next Story
