MESOP THE NEWS : 500 Kurds Have Joined Islamic State From Kurdistan Region / 3 mullahs employed by KRG Ministry of Endowment & Religious Affairs joined the Jihadi group

ERBIL – 9 Dec 2014 – BasNews can reveal the latest figure about the Kurds who have joined the Islamic State (IS) militants. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Endowment and Religious Affairs believes that fewer people have joined the group from the Kurdistan Region than other areas and countries.According to the new data, 500 people from Kurdistan Region have joint IS in the last two years.Of this number, 100 have been killed fighting for IS in Syria and Iraq and 50 have returned to the Kurdistan Region. A further 65 have left IS and been smuggled to Europe or Morocco.

Former Spokesman of the Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs and the current head of the Communication Department of the ministry, Mariwan Naqshbandi told BasNews, “Based on the information that I have obtained, in the last week, almost 20 Kurdish IS militants have surrendered themselves, along with all their weapons and military equipment, to Peshmerga forces in the Makhmour and Gwer areas.”He continued, “Most of the Kurdish people that have joined the IS insurgents are students of religious schools funded by the ministry as well as from colleges offering education in Islamic Sharia, education, science and agriculture and nursing.”

 “So far three Kurdish mullahs are among the 500 Kurds – they are from Daratu, Sangasar and Garmian. Two of them joined IS seven months ago and the other one only recently,” added Naqshbandi. The Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs, Kamal Muslim pointed out to BasNews that people from all around the world have joined IS. “Fortunately, fewer people from the Kurdistan Region have joined IS compared to other countries,” said Muslim. Commenting on the mullahs, Muslim said that they are no different to other individuals from Kurdish society who have joined IS; although they are mullahs and belong to the ministry, they are part of this community, he said.