ICSR Launch: Who Inspires the Foreign Fighters in Syria?

Over the past 12 months, the ICSR team has created a unique database with the social media profiles of nearly 200 British, European and Western fighters in Syria. Nearly two thirds of them are members of Jabhat al Nusra and ISIS -- the two groups that have, at one point or another, maintained formal relationships with al Qaeda. On Wednesday, 16 April, ICSR will release the first in a series of ground-breaking reports based on information in this database:  "#Greenbirds: Measuring Importance and Influence in Syrian Foreign Fighter Networks"  The paper shows how Western foreign fighters in Syria receive information about the conflict and who inspires them. It also reveals the identities of the two radical preachers that are the fighters' principal sources of inspiration, support, encouragement, and religious legitimacy. They are charismatic, fluent in English, and they are both based not in Syria but here in the West. Join us for this timely and exciting launch event, which features ICSR Fellows Shiraz Maher and Joseph Carter as well as ICSR Director Professor Peter Neumann -- the report's three authors. When: Wednesday,  16 April, 5pm. The event will be followed by a reception. Where: War Studies Meeting Room, Strand Campus, King's College London  Follow us on Twitter: @ICSR_Centre @ShirazMaher @PeterRNeumann