Putin 7,000 people from ex Soviet republics estimated to fight alongsid...

There are 7,000 foreign terrorists in Syria who went there from Russia and several other former Soviet nations to join Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS), Russian President Vladimir Putin told the heads of those states in Kazakhstan.“There are an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 fighters from Russia and other CIS member states fighting for ISIL,” Putin said referring to IS by its former name. “We certainly cannot allow them to use the experience they are getting in Syria on home soil.”

Putin was speaking to leaders of the CIS, a regional union of a dozen former Soviet republics. He reported details of the Russian bombing campaign in Syria targeting the jihadists and assured that there was significant progress in defeating IS.“By carrying out airstrikes on targets chosen in coordination with the Syrians, our troops have produced significant results. Dozens of command points and depots, hundreds of terrorists and a large number of military hardware have been destroyed,” Putin said.

Putin reiterated that Russia's operation in Syria has a definite timeframe and would not last longer than the offensive operation of the Syrian government troops, which get air support from Russia.

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The Russian leader said CIS members should be on guard for possible retaliation from the terrorists and ramp up cooperation between their national counterterrorism and border guard agencies.