UN says foreign jihadists heading into Iraq, Syria on 'unprecedented scale'

A UN report suggests that foreign jihadists are heading into Islamic State territories in Iraq and Syria on "an unprecedented scale".

According to The Guardian, a UN Security Council report said that 15,000 people have travelled to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside the Islamic State (Isis) and similar extremist groups.

The UN has raised concerns that those swarming the conflict zones include people from countries that are largely free of terrorist activities.

The report said that jihadists from more than 80 countries were traveling to Iraq and Syria, "including a tail of countries that have not previously faced challenges relating to al-Qaida".

The UN further said that Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaida who booted IS out of his organisation, "appears to be maneuvering for relevance", the report added.