Nine Japanese nationals have allegedly joined Islamic State militants, who are currently wreaking havoc on Iraq and Syria.
Japan’s former air force chief, Toshio Tamogami, recently met with director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Nissim Ben Shitrit, in the occupied Palestinian territories and was told that nine Japanese nationals have joined IS.
However, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Friday that the government has not confirmed such information.
According to the former Japanese air force chief, no details except the number of the Japanese nationals were given to him by the Israeli official.
Shitrit previously served as an Israeli ambassador to Japan.
The Islamic State terrorists have taken over large parts of Syria and Iraq over the past months. The terrorists have been committing barbarous acts in the captured areas.
A remarkable number of the IS members are foreign nationals.
EU Counter-terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove recently acknowledged that over 3,000 European citizens have joined IS in Syria and Iraq.
The number includes those who have returned to Europe and those who have been killed in the two countries, the EU official added.
The CIA spy agency estimates that IS may currently have up to 31,000 terrorists in Iraq and Syria.
On September 23, the United States and its Arab allies started targeting IS positions in Syria.
Warplanes from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates participated in the air strikes.
The United States also struck IS positions in Iraq in August.
Washington has supported militants operating against the government of Syria since March 2011.
