Several Canadians Headed to Syria to Join IS
At least six young Canadian men and women from Montreal and its suburbs traveled overseas last month to join the Islamic State group, local media reported Thursday.
Some of them, including two young women, were students at Montreal CEGEP College de Maisonneuve.
They flew to Turkey on January 16 with the aim of crossing its border into Syria, the Montreal daily La Presse said.
It is unclear if they reached their final destination.
The father of one of the young men, fearing his son's downward spiral since taking up religious and Arabic studies, seized his passport. But his son reported it lost and obtained a replacement from authorities.
The six are aged 18 to 19 and of Mideast and North African descent.
A spokeswoman for Montreal CEGEP College de Maisonneuve confirmed that three of them had attended the high school last semester, but did not know if they knew each other.
Their departure follows the alleged radicalization of a 23-year-old Alberta woman who left her family mid-2014 to join the Islamic State group in Syria.
Western governments are increasingly concerned about a rising number of foreign fighters traveling to Syria through Turkey to join extremist groups.
U.S. intelligence officials warned earlier this month that more than 20,000 volunteers from around the world had gone to Syria to link up with extremists.
Source: Agence France Presse
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