The Finnish Security Intelligence Service (Supo) estimates that around one in six Finns who left to join the conflict in Syria have been killed in the fighting.
Senior researcher Lars Sundström told Yle that Supo believes that between 8 and 11 Finnish citizens have so far died in Syria, out of over 60 individuals who are known to have left Finland to join the fighting.
”Unfortunately the number of people going there is growing,” Sundström said. He said Supo estimates there are currently around 30 Finns fighting in Syria, as some have already returned to Finland.
On Wednesday Yle carried an interview with a 20-year-old from eastern Finland who claims to have been in the ranks of the jihadist group Isis for around five months. His online postings and contact with an Yle journalist reveal a lonely, unsociable young man who converted to Islam and found solace in extremist teachings despite having any direct contact with Muslims in Finland.
