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Study: Flow of Bosnians to Syria, Iraq Dries Up

The flow of Bosnian jihadists to Syria and Iraq has almost stopped -- although nearly 200 of them are still there, including 60 minors, according to a new study.

"The departures of Bosnian citizens to Syria and Iraq continued throughout 2015 but at a slower pace. The trend almost completely stopped by early 2016," said the study published by the Sarajevo-based thinktank Atlantic Initiative.

The report out this week also noted that returns from Syria and Iraq to Bosnia had "ceased completely in 2015," except for a few extradition cases from Turkish prisons.

The reduced flow both ways was likely a result of "intensified efforts aimed at the criminal prosecution of aspiring fighters and returnees from Syria and Iraq," said the report.

The reduction could also be linked to changes in Islamic State-controlled territories, which are now more difficult to enter and leave, it said.

The report's authors said they knew of families that had departed with a number of children and little intention of returning -- in one case, with nine children and a five-month-old baby.

"This could be attributed to a change in (Islamic State Group) ISIL's rhetoric and a generally new understanding of the conflict -– as not only jihad but also hijra (migration)," their study said.

One in three of the Bosnians who are currently in Iraq or Syria are minors, said the study, which also warned of young boys aged 13 or 14 engaging in combat.

However, the total number of Bosnian citizens in Syria and Iraq is declining.

Since 2012, 330 Bosnians have gone to the region to join jihad. Of the 188 men among them, at least 50 have been killed and 47 have returned to Bosnia.

Bosnian fighters' deaths are almost twice the European average rate, possibly due to a lack of proper military training before they join the conflict, the report suggested.

Despite "sensationalist" media reports of "jihadi training camps" in Bosnia, "extensive police investigations have thus far found no evidence to corroborate these reports," the study said.

About 40 percent of Bosnia's 3.8 million people are Muslim, the vast majority of them moderates. The rest are mainly Orthodox or Catholic Christian.

Source: Agence France Presse


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