FBI Chief Says Number of IS Recruits from U.S. Dropped

The number of U.S. recruits trying to join the Islamic State extremist group has declined, FBI Director James Comey told the U.S. Congress Wednesday.

But he said there could be multiple explanations for the drop-off, including new recruits leaving the United States undetected.

"Just in the last few months, we are seeing fewer people attempt to travel to join ISIL in Syria," Comey told the House of Representative's Homeland Security Committee, using an alternative name for the jihadist group.

"We have seen six in the last three and a half months. We were seeing nine a month in all the months before that."

But the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said he didn't "know what to make of that."

"One possibility is we are not seeing it the way we were before, (and) they are still going," he said, adding that it was also possible "efforts to lock people up and punish them" or cooperative efforts with Turkish and other countries are making a difference.