Hundreds of Western Anti-ISIS Fighters Send Themselves to the Front

Hundreds of Western Anti-ISIS Fighters Send Themselves to the Front
American Jordan Matson with the anti-ISIS forces fights with the Kurdish YPG in Syria in this file photo. Kurdishtruggle/Flickr/CC BY
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For some, it would be their worst nightmare to be sent to the Middle East to join anti-ISIS fighters on the ground. For others, it’s a dream come true. Whether out of a sense of moral imperative or simply because of a militant urge to fight, there are currently at least 300 active Western anti-ISIS fighters, including over 100 from the United States.

They hail largely from about 20 Western countries, including the United States, the U.K., Canada, and Sweden. They were identified during a year of research by the London-based Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD).

The think tank also found self-drafted fighters from corners of the world as far-flung as South Korea, Indonesia, and Colombia. The detailed report of their findings, “Shooting in the Right Direction: Anti-ISIS Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq,” was published in August.

Number of anti-ISIS fighters by nationality. (Institute For Strategic Dialogue)
Number of anti-ISIS fighters by nationality. Institute For Strategic Dialogue