Two Azeri Islamic State fighters killed in Syria: media

PanARMENIAN.Net - Two Azerbaijani nationals fighting with Islamic State have been killed in Syria, RFE/RL said citing Azeri media reports.

One of the men was named as Seymur Topçubaşovdur, who fought under the nom de guerre Abu Abdurauf al-Azeri and commanded an artillery platoon. The other man was named as Abu Sureyya from Sumqayit, the large industrial city north of Baku.

The reports did not say where the fighters died. However, it is possible that they were killed in or near Kobani in northern Syria.

Islamic State fighters speaking Azerbaijani can be heard in a recent video posted on YouTube by the Aamaq News Agency, which shows footage of a group of jihadi fighters just outside of Kobani.

There have been reports of Azerbaijani fighters in Syria since May 2012.

Exact numbers of Azerbaijani fighters in Syria are not known. Estimates in news reports have ranged from 200 to 300. The largest group is likely fighting in Islamic State. In May, the leader of an Azerbaijani Islamic State faction in Raqqa, Mohammad al-Azeri, gave a video address in which he stated that Islamic State was on the correct path of jihad in Syria.