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More Swiss seeking to join jihad: report

The Local
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More Swiss seeking to join jihad: report
Jihadist fighters in Syria. Photo: AFP

In the past month two more people living in Switzerland have attempted to travel to a conflict zone to join Islamist fighters, the authorities say.

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The Swiss Federal Intelligence Service said the number of would-be jihadists had risen to 76 since 2001.

In a media release reported by news agencies it said the most common destinations for jihadists remained Syria and Iraq.

Other destinations were Somalia, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Intelligence Service said 21 of the 76 were known to have died. Others are still present in the conflict zones.

One jihadist returned to Switzerland in the past month bringing the number of returners to 13.

Of the 76 recorded Islamic fighters, 29 had Swiss citizenship.

The Federal Intelligence Service is currently monitoring some 400 potential jihadists and a dozen people have been charged with terror-related offences.

More than 60 possible jihadists are currently facing prosecution, Swiss attorney general, Michael Lauber said in March.

Earlier this week  the Swiss Senate rejected a plan to strip people convicted of terrorism of Swiss citizenship.

The other chamber, the National Council, had approved the move in a vote held three weeks after the Paris attacks of November 2015.

 

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