Two Maldivian jihadists have been killed in Syria.
According to reports, Abu Dujana Al Maldifi and Khattab al Maldifi were killed in clashes that erupted following an attack in Hama city by the Syrian army.
Bilad al Sham Media, which brings updates of Maldivian jihadists in Syria, has confirmed their deaths, adding that the media has been spreading false information regarding their ‘martyrdom’.
Syrian news outlets report that one of the Maldivians killed ‘was a top field commander’ in Tahrir al-Sham, an al-Qaeda affiliated group in Syria.
According to international experts and agencies, Maldives ‘has the world's highest per capita of fighters in the region’. However, the government denies this, maintaining that the number ‘is well below 50’.
While the government has criminalized joining civil conflicts abroad, several individuals who had returned back to the Maldives are being tried on criminal charges. However, according to reports, some of those caught en route to Syria have been released, once extradited to Maldives.