Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (AFP) - As many as 3,000 foreigners are fighting US and
coalition forces in Iraq, a US military analyst reported Thursday, citing a
study drawing on Saudi and other regional intelligence reports.
Algerians constituted the highest percentage of the foreign fighters --
about 20 percent -- followed by Syrians, Yemenis, Sudanese, Egyptians, and
Saudis, said Anthony Cordesman in a report on the findings.
"If there are anything like 3,000 foreign fighters in Iraq, this poses a
serious threat," Cordesman said.
Cordesman, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies,
said US sources have put the number of the foreign fighters under Jordanian
militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi at only about 1,000 and believe the number has
increased since the January 30 elections.
"In any case, the exact numbers are largely irrelevant. All it takes is
enough volunteers to continue to support suicide attacks and violent
bombings, and to seek to drive Iraqi Sunnis towards a major and intense
civil war," Cordesman wrote.
They also pose a threat because "many are likely to survive and be the
source of violence and extremism in other countries," he said.
The study, called the Saudi National Security Estimate Project, is unusual
in that it drew on Saudi intelligence, including interrogation reports of
hundreds of captured militants as well as a comprehensive analysis of
militant activities.
Intelligence reports from other regional governments provided names and
networks that militants relied on to enter Iraq, according to Cordesman.
"Discussions with US and Iraqi experts indicated that they felt that Saudi
estimates were roughly correct, although they cautioned that they did not
have reliable numbers for either the total number of volunteers or their
origin by country," Cordesman said.
The Saudi study found that Syrians accounted for 18 percent of the foreign
militants, Yemenis 17 percent, Sudanese 15 percent, Egyptians 13 percent and
Saudis 12 percent.
coalition forces in Iraq, a US military analyst reported Thursday, citing a
study drawing on Saudi and other regional intelligence reports.
Algerians constituted the highest percentage of the foreign fighters --
about 20 percent -- followed by Syrians, Yemenis, Sudanese, Egyptians, and
Saudis, said Anthony Cordesman in a report on the findings.
"If there are anything like 3,000 foreign fighters in Iraq, this poses a
serious threat," Cordesman said.
Cordesman, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies,
said US sources have put the number of the foreign fighters under Jordanian
militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi at only about 1,000 and believe the number has
increased since the January 30 elections.
"In any case, the exact numbers are largely irrelevant. All it takes is
enough volunteers to continue to support suicide attacks and violent
bombings, and to seek to drive Iraqi Sunnis towards a major and intense
civil war," Cordesman wrote.
They also pose a threat because "many are likely to survive and be the
source of violence and extremism in other countries," he said.
The study, called the Saudi National Security Estimate Project, is unusual
in that it drew on Saudi intelligence, including interrogation reports of
hundreds of captured militants as well as a comprehensive analysis of
militant activities.
Intelligence reports from other regional governments provided names and
networks that militants relied on to enter Iraq, according to Cordesman.
"Discussions with US and Iraqi experts indicated that they felt that Saudi
estimates were roughly correct, although they cautioned that they did not
have reliable numbers for either the total number of volunteers or their
origin by country," Cordesman said.
The Saudi study found that Syrians accounted for 18 percent of the foreign
militants, Yemenis 17 percent, Sudanese 15 percent, Egyptians 13 percent and
Saudis 12 percent.
