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Belgium: Joining the Jihad

August 14, 2013

Some 500 young Europeans are currently fighting with Islamists in Syria -- and against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Many of these foreign fighters come from Belgium.

https://p.dw.com/p/19QBm

They're being recruited by a radical Islamist group called Sharia4Belgium. In raids of close to 50 homes earlier this year, Belgian police discovered stashes of explosives and weapons. The group is mainly active in Antwerp and Wallonia. Dozens of young Belgians are now fighting alongside Syrian rebels. Many parents are frantically searching for their children -- and some are even travelling to Syria to look for them.