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More Koreans may have joined Islamic State

June 1, 2015

Various affiliates confirm having seen Korean members of the terrorist organization on SBS documentary

FILE – This file image taken from a militant website associated with Islamic State extremists, posted Saturday, May 23, 2015, purports to show a suicide bomber, with the Arabic bar below reading: “Urgent: The heroic martyr Abu Amer al-Najdi, the attacker of the (Shiite) temple in Qatif”, which the Islamic State group’s radio station claimed responsibility for. Al-Bayan, the Islamic State radio targeting potential European recruits, touts recent triumphs in the campaign to carve out a Caliphate with contrast between the smooth, Western-style production and the extremist content showing how far the hardcore Islamic propaganda machine has come since its beginnings in 2012. (Militant photo via AP, FILE)

By Lee Ji-hye

More Koreans have joined the Islamic State terrorist group, according to witnesses in a documentary.

On SBS Special’s episode titled, “IS fighters and boys,” broadcast Sunday, various affiliates confirmed having seen Korean members of the terrorist organization.

“My son was told through a chat room that there is not one, but many Korean IS members in Ar-Raqqah,” said a father of a young man who was recruited by the extremist group through social media.

The terrorist group has established a stronghold in Syria’s Ar-Raqqah Province since July 2014.

According to Korea’s National Intelligence Services, an 18-year-old Korean man surnamed Kim was confirmed to have received training with the IS group as of February 24, but no further details were available.

Other witnesses were also cited in the program.

A teenager claiming to have been a former member of the terrorist organization said, “I saw a Korean IS member near the checkpoint (at the Syrian border) who looked around the age of 15 or 16.”

“He was holding a gun and wearing a military uniform,” he said, adding that it was a month later until he saw another Korean member of the group.

Government officials also confirmed the witnesses’ claim.

“We met two Korean members, and they have confirmed to have been from Korea,” an official of the Syrian Interim Government was also quoted as telling SBS.

“However we find it difficult to understand who would come from such a far country and how they would be recruited.”