Dutch fight for HTS in Syria News December 23, 2024 2 minutes Daniel de Liever HTSANP The terrorist organization HTS, which seized power in large parts of Syria after the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, also has Dutch 'fighters'. These are mainly former IS fighters, De Telegraaf reports .
The internet was shaken after a video circulating on social media showed men taking a selfie and shouting in Dutch 'This one is for Instagram, guys!' among all the 'Allah Akbar' cries.
It is still unknown who the Dutch fighters are or how many Dutch people are fighting for HTS in Syria. NSC faction leader Pieter Omtzigt asked Prime Minister Dick Schoof last week for clarity on the number of Dutch people fighting in Syria. Schoof did not have these figures, but promised to look into this.
So far, research by the AIVD has shown that there are a total of 45 adult Dutch travellers in Syria, 25 of whom are in the northwestern part of Syria, where HTS began its advance in recent years. The other twenty are spread across the rest of Syria. There are also said to be 170 children with 'Dutch roots' in Syria.
A year ago, one of these Dutchmen, Victor Droste, from Heeten in the province of Overijssel, said that he was fighting alongside 'his Syrian brothers': 'I am Dutch, but I am fighting here with my Syrian brothers to make our project a success. One day, we will all be standing together at the presidential palace in Damascus to celebrate the victory.' Droste left for Syria in 2013 to fight for IS. He later joined Jabhat al-Nusra, the predecessor of HTS.
