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Unemployment Is Driving Males to ISIS, Not Poverty, Illiteracy

ISIL’s recruitment of foreign fighters is a global phenomenon. Extremists from 86 countries have traveled to Syria and Iraq to fight for the terrorist group also known as the Islamic State or Daesh. These recruits are well-educated and relatively wealthy, according to a recent report by the World Bank. Researchers analyzed leaked data from disenfranchised former members, which was obtained by German […]

Aamna Mohdin reports for Defense One:

ISIL’s recruitment of foreign fighters is a global phenomenon. Extremists from 86 countries have traveled to Syria and Iraq to fight for the terrorist group also known as the Islamic State or Daesh.

These recruits are well-educated and relatively wealthy, according to a recent report by the World Bank. Researchers analyzed leaked data from disenfranchised former members, which was obtained by German intelligence. The 22,000 documents are questionnaires of each would-be recruit. It includes basic information—such as their name, level of education, and place of birth—on 3,803 foreign recruits who joined the terrorist group between 2013 and 2014.