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Source: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7374-1668306,00.html
How Long Can the Syrian Border Remain Porous?: How Foreigners Flock to Join Holy War
(Times-UK) Richard Beeston and James Hider - Syria is the final point of departure for thousands of young men, drawn from across the Arab world and from Muslim communities as far away as Spain, France, and even Sheffield, England, seeking to fight the war against U.S. forces in Iraq. According to former fighters in Damascus, volunteers are given a crash course in using Kalashnikov rifles, firing rocket-propelled grenades, and the use of remote detonators. The training takes place at secret camps in the Syrian desert, near the Iraqi border. Some attacks are even planned in advance in Damascus and Aleppo. According to Lt-.Gen. John Vines, the commander of coalition forces in Iraq, 150 foreign volunteers now cross into the country from Syria every month.