71 Kuwaitis with DAESH: Post Bahrain ready to back Jordan
KUWAIT CITY, Feb 10, (Agencies): According to a report published in the Washington Post newspaper 71 Kuwaitis have joined DAESH, reports Al-Shahed daily.
They are fighting under the leadership of the self-proclaimed Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria and Iraq just like other fighters who have joined the group from several countries. Giving a breakdown on the fighters who have joined DAESH the Washington Post put the number for Saudis as 2,500, 15 UAE citizens, 15 Qataris, 12 Bahrainis, 110 Yemenis, 247 Iraqis, and 44 from the North Africa countries.
The number of foreign fighters who have travelled to Iraq and Syria to fight alongside the Islamic State has grown to 20,000. This means 5,000 more fighters have joined the group since the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence (ICSR) had issued the statistics last October. Earlier France accounted for 412 fighters.
The new data shows the number has almost tripled, to 1,200. About 100 fighters from The Netherlands, UK and Austria have joined DAESH. Bahrain’s ruler has told his Jordanian counterpart that he is ready to assist the kingdom in its fight against the Islamic State group, the royal palace in Amman said Monday.
King Hamad of Bahrain, quoted in a palace statement, told King Abdallah II that he was “proud to provide all the help Jordan needs to combat terrorism and protect Islam from DAESH (IS)”. Talks between the two monarchs in Amman on Monday focused on reinforcing military cooperation between their countries, notably their air forces, the statement said.
Jordan has vowed to intensify its air strikes against IS as part of a US-led coalition after the jihadists burned alive one of its pilots captured in December when his F-16 fighter jet went down over Syria. The United Arab Emirates on Sunday deployed a squadron of F-16s in Jordan to support Amman’s campaign against the extremists, who seized large parts of Iraq and Syria last year.
The European Union is providing 100 million euros ($113 million) in loans to Jordan to help it deal with the fallout from crises like the conflicts in neighboring Syria and Iraq.
The EU’s top economics and financial affairs official Pierre Moscovici, said Tuesday that the loans will support “economic reforms and create the conditions for sustainable growth and employment.” The money is part of a broader 180- million-euro program for Jordan that would also strengthen its currency and budget following gas supply problems from Egypt and the impact of Syria’s refugee crisis.
The EU has already provided Jordan with 300 million euros worth of other assistance to help it deal with humanitarian and security challenges linked to the Syrian crisis.