20,000 foreigners from 90 countries fighting in Syria, says Washington

(IraqiNews.com) 20,000 is the number of people who have entered Syria to fight for terrorist groups, coming from 90 different countries. They arrived in an “unprecedented” pace, according to a senior official in the CIA.

On Wednesday, the head of the National Counter-Terrorism Center (NCTC), Nicholas Rasmussen said during a hearing session before the Homeland Security Committee in the US House of Representatives, that those who now fight in Syria arrived in “unprecedented” pace in comparison with those who fight in other areas of conflict like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen and Somalia.

“We believe that at least 3,400 of these foreign fighters come from Western states; 150 of which are Americans,” he added.

Rasmussen pointed out that the number of those willing to travel is also increasing, adding that the majority go to join ISIS in Syria and Iraq.