"We've seen an unprecedented level of reports of foreign-fighter involvement," said Maj. Gen. Bernard S. Champoux, deputy commander for security of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force.
These militants, specifically those from Chechnya, are some of IS's most prized battlefield commanders and fighters, making Russian involvement in Syria just as much about counter-terrorism operations as it is about supporting the Assad regime.
A government official told the AP that the troops moved into Iraq in "hot pursuit" of PKK fighters accused of involvement in a bomb attack that killed 16 Turkish soldiers on Sunday.
The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, an al Qaeda linked group, has claimed responsibility for the attacks, asserting that they were retaliation for the involvement of Lebanese fighters in the Syrian conflict and the capture of rebel fighters by Lebanese forces.
She'll remind the party, too, that without fighters and strong party membership involvement, important tenets of human rights are easily trampled over.
Turkey is an ally in the US-led coalition against Isis, but the two countries are at odds over the involvement of Kurdish fighters in northern Syria in the battle against the group.
Given the involvement of Hezbollah fighters in the battles and the new higher confidence being displayed by the regime in its advance on Aleppo, the military assistance being offered will not be enough to shift the momentum.
Other Sunni fighters used the army's involvement as cover fire to advance, and throughout the exchange snipers continued firing at Jebel Mohsen from concealed positions in neighboring buildings.
"Syria may be the first conflict in which a large number of western fighters have been documenting their involvement in conflict in real-time, and where – in turn – social media represents an essential source of information and inspiration to them," the report, a product of a year-long study, concludes.
The statements follow a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, which condemned government attacks on Qusair and the involvement of foreign fighters.
Authorities are increasingly worried that beyond fueling the conflict in the region, the involvement of European fighters could unleash a blowback effect as jihadis return primed to carry out attacks in their home countries. .
