Iraq FM warns of ‘toxic’ proliferation of Syria terrorists

Iraq Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has warned that the increasing number of extremist terrorists in Syria is raising the prospect of creation of an ungovernable emirate at the heart of the region.

Zebari made the remarks in a speech at a security conference in Bahrain on Saturday.

“The most important danger coming out of the Syria conflict for Iraq…and for the region is the mushrooming of terrorist groups and fronts in Syria,” he said, adding, “These are armies of recruits. They’re not all Syrians. There are European nationals. Some of them have come as far as from Australia, from Canada, and from many other countries. This is really toxic.”

According to reports, some 1,200-1,700 Europeans are fighting along with militants in Syria against the government of President Bashar al-Assad. Thousands others militants are also thought to come from Arab and other countries.

The Iraqi arm of al-Qaeda group has also joined the conflict in Syria and moved into militant-held areas in north of Syria.

More than 8,000 people have been killed in bombings and shootings in Iraq since the beginning of 2013. The violence is blamed on al-Qaeda militants and is believed to be part of their cross-border ambitions.

The Iraqi Foreign Minister stressed that militant groups could finally consolidate areas under their control in Syria, saying, “The day will come, God forbid, when they will have another Islamic emirate.”

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011. A recent British defense study showed that about 100,000 militants, fragmented into 1,000 groups, are fighting in Syria against the government and people.