ISIS is using Westerners as ‘cannon fodder’

by **Ponee** Sun Dec 21, 2014 7:48 pm

Australia's government has accused the Islamic State group of using foreign fighters as "cannon fodder."

Australian Attorney General George Brandis said in a report in The Australian newspaper on Tuesday that the number of Australians killed while fighting alongside militants in Syria and Iraq has risen in recent weeks to 20. Australia had previously put the death toll at 15.

Brandis says Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group members are using foreign fighters as "frontline cannon fodder, suicide bombers and propaganda tools."

Last week, Australia used tough new counterterrorism laws to make it a criminal offense for Australians to travel to the Syrian province of al-Raqqa because of the Islamic State movement's hold on the war-ravaged region.

The government estimates at least 70 Australians are fighting with terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria.

Last Update: Tuesday, 9 December 2014 KSA 09:00 - GMT 06:00

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/12/09/Australia-ISIS-is-using-Westerners-as-cannon-fodder-.html