U.S. Says Dozens of Americans Have Sought to Join Rebels in Syria
Dozens of Americans have traveled or tried to travel to Syria to fight with the rebels against the government of President Bashar al-Assad since 2011, American intelligence officials said Wednesday.
The Americans are a small subset of the mostly radicalized young Muslims with Western passports who are entering Syria from Europe, North America and Australia, a group that numbers roughly 600, according to the officials and classified estimates from Western spy agencies. That represents a fraction of the roughly 6,000 to 11,000 foreign fighters over all who have poured into Syria by way of the Middle East and North Africa.
The Americans’ numbers are small — intelligence officials would not be more precise than saying “dozens” were involved — and they have so far not distinguished themselves on the battlefield. But they are part of what officials said was a growing presence of foreigners who are fighting Mr. Assad’s government.
“It’s a very steady increase, and I expect that to continue as long as the fighting there continues,” a senior American intelligence official said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/21/world/middleeast/us-says-dozens-of-americans-have-sought-to-join-rebels-in-syria.html?_r=0