Islamic Militants Leave Pakistan To Fight In Syria

[Purveyor]

ISLAMABAD (AP) -- Suleman spent years targeting minority Shiite Muslims in his home country of Pakistan as a member of one of the country's most feared militant groups. Now he is on his way to a new sectarian battleground, Syria, where he plans to join Sunni rebels battling President Bashar Assad's regime.

It is a fight he believes will boost his reward in heaven.

The short and stocky Pakistani, who identified himself using only his first name for fear of being targeted by authorities, is one of an increasing number of militants who have left Pakistan for Syria in recent months. The fighters have contributed to a growing presence of Islamic extremists and complicated U.S. efforts to help the rebels.

Many fighters like Suleman believe they must help Syria's Sunni majority defeat Assad's Alawite regime - an offshoot of the Shiite sect. Radical Sunnis view Shiites as heretics.

The presence of Islamic extremists in Syria looms large over U.S. efforts to help the rebels, especially when it comes to providing weapons that could end up in the hands of America's enemies. The extremists have also sparked infighting with more secular rebels concerned about the increasing power of the Islamists.

more...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_PAKISTAN_SYRIA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-07-14-15-19-34

[hardcover]

1. Are extremists the majority in the Islamic world?

Is there is no end to their numbers?

[Comrade Grumpy]

2. No. There are more than a billion Muslims.

There may be a few thousands or tens of thousands of jihadis.

So, not a majority, not even 1%, not even 1/10th of 1%.

[Comrade Grumpy]

3. There's plenty of room left in Syria to bury them there, too.