Advertisement

Two Swedes killed in attacks on Isis by US

The Local Sweden
The Local Sweden - [email protected]
Two Swedes killed in attacks on Isis by US
File photo of a US plane in the Middle East. Image: Jack Braden/AP/TT

The pair had travelled to the Middle East to fight alongside the radical Islamist group, US media have reported.

Advertisement

The Swedish Isis fighters were killed in US bombings in Lebanon and Iraq on March 16th according to Pentagon sources which only revealed the details late on Wednesday.

"During the air attacks, Isis lost highly motivated terrorists who had demonstrated leadership skills,"  spokesperson Steve Warren told US news network CNN.

"We target the cells, groups and and individuals who we believe are planning to carry out terror," he continued.

The news comes amid growing concerns about the number of Swedish residents choosing to leave the Nordics for the Middle East.

Swedish security service Säpo said last year that more than 125 Swedes were believed to be fighting in Syria and Iraq, of whom 35 are women.

Syria's President Bashar al Assad has also claimed that "some of the most dangerous" Isis leaders in the Middle East are Scandinavian.

In February Sweden's national coordinator against violent extremism suggested that around 40 Swedish children under 10 are thought to be staying with Isis after their parents joined the terror group.

Sweden – which is not part of Nato – has sent around 35 soldiers to train Kurdish forces in Iraq to tackle Isis fighters. Sweden's Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist recently said that their mission could be extended until December 2016.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also