Chechen militants get to Syria via Azerbaijan, said a MIA source

Today, Sergey Smirnov, the first deputy director of the Russian FSB (Federal Security Bureau), has said that some 300-400 natives of Russia are fighting as mercenaries in Syria. According to his story, their return to Russia is a serious danger. Mr Smirnov did not specify the particular Russian regions, from where the mercenaries went to Syria.

A source from the Chechen MIA told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that various Internet resources are broadly used to recruit young Chechens as mercenaries.

"Under various pretexts young people go to Baku; from there, they get to Turkey and from there – directly to Syria. They are enticed by the jihad, allegedly run there; therefore, the participation therein is a duty of every Muslim believer," said the source.

A high-ranking Chechen security official told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that there is no precise data on the number of Chechens involved in the Syrian war.

"The problem is that many of the fighters go there from Europe. Also, quite often, foreign media treat all natives from Northern Caucasus as Chechens. I think the total number of Chechnya's natives who are fighting in Syria is some 200-500 people maximum," said the official.