AKIPRESS.COM - The president of Tajikistan on Saturday called the Islamic State group a modern “plague“, expressing concern that several hundred young people had left the ex-Soviet republic to fight with jihadists in Syria, AFP reported on December 14.

The ISIL “is the plague of the new century and represents a threat for global security," Emomali Rahmon said on Saturday.

The Central Asian nation's security forces believe that more than 300 Tajiks have joined the fighting in Syria, with at least 50 killed so far.

"These young people, when they return home, bring instability to society," Rahmon said, adding, "They are a threat for Tajikistan because they recruit for extremist groups in Syria and Iraq."

The ISIL terrorists control parts of Syria and Iraq. They are engaged in crimes against humanity in the areas under their control. ISIL militants have terrorized and killed people of all communities, including Shias, Sunnis, Kurds and Christians.

Rahmon has stressed the need for the militaries and security agencies of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which includes countries that were former Soviet republics, to coordinate their efforts closely to neutralize the ISIL threat.

The United Nations has warned that unprecedented numbers of foreigners are flocking to Iraq and Syria to join extremist groups such as the ISIL despite US-led strikes on the groups’ positions.

According to a report by the UN Security Council, 15,000 people have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside the ISIL or other such groups. The report added that the militants come from more than 80 countries, which had not contributed to international terrorism before.