Australian IS fighters doubled last year’

The number of Australians fighting for the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq doubled in the past year but was not expected to continue to grow so rapidly, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said.

Australia has been increasingly concerned about the ability of IS, also known as Daesh, to lure citizens to the conflict and at least 20 nationals are believed to have died there.

“We estimate that there are around 120 Australians currently in Iraq and Syria supporting Daesh and other terrorist groups,” Bishop told reporters in New York late on Sunday. “That is double the number that I reported here 12 months <g data-gr-id="12">ago.</g>”  Bishop said estimates were that 30,000 foreigners from at least 100 countries had joined Islamic State jihadists. “Our numbers have doubled since last <g data-gr-id="11">year</g> but I don’t expect it to double again by next year,” she said.