As many as 12,000 foreigners have gone to Syria alone to fight the government of Bashar Al Assad. Many have joined extremist groups, including the Al Nusra Front — an Al Qaida affiliate — and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which now controls a territory straddling Syria and Iraq. Below is a glimpse into the backgrounds of some of the many Western militants fighting in Syria and Iraq:

 

Douglas McAuthur McCain, 33, from Minnesota, USA.

He embraced Islam and was reported to have been studying at San Diego City College before going to Syria. He was described by friends as working “a few dead end jobs” and picking up several “petty convictions”.

Deso Dogg, 39, from Berlin, Germany.

Formerly a rapper who had released 3 modestly successful albums in Germany, his nom-de-geurre is Abu Talha Al Almani (Abu Talha the German) and, despite reports that he was killed earlier this year, Isil have stressed that he is still alive.

Amer Deghayes, 20, from Brighton, UK.

Travelled to Syria with his brother to join Al Qaida’s Syria affiliate Jabhat Al Nusra. A former media studies student, he has stated that he “couldn’t care less” if he is branded a terrorist. His uncle, Omar Deghayes, is a a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who was released without charge in 2006.

Khalid Sharrouf, 33, from Sydney, Australia.

Took his wife and five children to Syria with him and is believed to be living in Raqqa. He is reported to have a history of substance abuse, notably LSD and Methamphetamines. He made headlines this summer when he tweeted a photo of his son holding up the head of a captured fighter he had decapitated.

Israfil Yilmaz, 26, from The Netherlands.

A former professional soldier in both the Dutch and Turkish armies, Yilmaz is a committed user of social media sites like twitter and Tumblr to document his time in the “battlefields of Syria”. Whilst denying that he belongs to any particular group, he has spoken positively on Isil and Jabhat Al Nusra.

Moner Mohammad Abu Salha, American

Grew up a basketball fan in Vero Beach, Florida, and killed 16 people and himself in a suicide bombing attack against Syrian government forces in May. US officials say he was on their radar screen but acknowledge he travelled from Syria to the United States before the attack without detection. Had he attacked in the US instead of Syria, it’s unclear whether he would have been stopped.

Hamza Nawaz, 23, and Mohammad Nawaz, 30, British

They pleaded guilty in May to attending a terrorist training camp in Syria. They were caught on the return trip home with ammunition. In an unrelated case, Mashudur Choudhury, 31, was also convicted in London of travelling to a terrorist camp in Syria.

Eight men, including a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, were arrested in June by Spanish authorities and charged with recruiting for Isil.

— Compiled by Gareth Browne, who is an intern at Gulf News.