ANKARA
At least 1,000 French nationals are linked to terror organizations around the globe, especially in Iraq and Syria, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said.
Cazeneuve's comments came on Monday in an interview with BFM TV and RMC broadcasting network. He said there are at least 380 French nationals who are fighting for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
About 60 of the fighters have died and another 180 are believed to be en route to Iraq and Syria to join militant groups such as ISIL and al-Qaeda, Cazeneuve said.
French authorities estimate that there are about 200 French nationals who have returned to France after participating in terrorist activities around the world.
In November two French nationals appeared in an ISIL video that showed the beheadings of an American hostage and 18 Syrian soldiers.
Meanwhile German authorities said some 3,000 citizens of Western European countries, including 400 Germans, have joined ISIL with 1,132 of them being French nationals.
Cazenueve has submitted a bill to the French parliament which stipulates that those suspected of traveling to conflict zones abroad to join terror organizations will lose their French identity cards. The bill is still being debated in the French parliament.
He also expressed the need to close Islamic militant websites since 90 percent of them were recruited through the internet.
www.aa.com.tr/en
