(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
Baku: Azerbaijan has arrested eight men for fighting alongside the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq the majority-Muslim Caucasus nation's authorities said on Friday.
The men all Azeri nationals "were trained in Islamic State training camps in 2012-2015 and took part in fighting in Syria and Iraq within the ranks of terrorist groups" the national security ministry said in a statement.
Fighting in foreign wars is a criminal offence in the predominantly Muslim but secular country of more than 9 million people.
Local media had previously reported numerous cases of Azerbaijani nationals fighting alongside jihadists in Syria and Iraq including within the ranks of the Jaish al-Muhajireen wal Ansar group consisting mostly of Islamists from the former Soviet Union.
In September Jaish al-Muhajireen wal Ansar pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria Al-Nusra.
Around 25000 foreign fighters from more than 100 countries are involved in armed conflicts worldwide with the highest numbers in Syria Iraq and increasingly Libya according to United Nations.
AFP