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Written question asked by Lord Noon (Labour) on Thursday, 6 November 2014, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 20 November 2014. It was answered by Lord Bates (Conservative) on Monday, 17 November 2014 on behalf of the Home Office.


Middle East

Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their current estimate of the number of British-born jihadists who have gone to fight in support of extremist groups in Syria and Iraq; and how that figure compares with estimates by other western governments of numbers of their citizens who have gone to fight.

Answer

We believe that approximately 500 individuals from the UK have now travelled to the region since the start of the conflict. It is estimated half of these have returned. Not all of these individuals will have been involved in fighting.Recent comparable estimates of travellers/fighters for selected countries where some data has been reported publically are as follows:


o France: over 700

o Germany: 400

o Belgium: 300

o Netherlands: 130

o Austria: 140

o Denmark: over 100

o USA: just over 100

o Canada: Roughly 100

o Sweden: 80

o Spain: 60

o Australia: at least 60.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL2701
Session
2014-15
Subjects
Armed conflict British nationals abroad Iraq Syria Islamic State
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk