LONDON, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Some 120 to 150 Islamic extremists from Britain have reportedly traveled to Iraq to join the foreign legion of Al-Qaeda to fight coalition forces, the Sunday Times reported.
The report quoted senior security sources as saying leaders of the Iraqi insurgency have set up a "foreign legion" composed exclusively of westerners to fight with the insurgents against British and U.S. forces.
According to the report, some of the radicals are trained for basic combat skills while others are planning to carry out suicide attacks.
The "British brigade" is allegedly to be under the direct command of Al-Qaida leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
The number of young Islamic extremists moving from western Europe to Iraq has been on the rise over the past two years, fueled mostly by growing resentment about U.S. and British policy on Iraq, said the Sunday newspaper.
Security sources said that suspects have been stopped at British airports in the past months when they were on the way to join the insurgents.
Estimates from the International Institute for Strategic Studies indicated that one in 10 of the 20,000 insurgents in Iraq was foreign-born. Enditem
