UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - More than 25,000 foreign fighters from some 100 countries are linked to al Qaeda and Islamic State, with Syria and Iraq comprising a "veritable international finishing school for extremists," United Nations experts reported to the U.N. Security Council.
The experts, who monitor al Qaeda sanctions violations, said in a report seen by Reuters that along with some 22,000 foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq, there were also 6,500 in Afghanistan and hundreds more in Yemen, Libya, Pakistan and Somalia.