![An illustration of Daesh's flag taken on 18 February, 2016 [Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/2016-08-30T182324Z_1_LYNXNPEC7T1G6_RTROPTP_3_CNEWS-US-MIDEAST-CRISIS-ISLAMIC-STATE-SPOKESMAN.jpg?fit=728%2C485&ssl=1)
The latest figures from the Saudi Ministry of Interior show that there are 2,093 Saudi citizens abroad fighting for Daesh, with just under three quarters of them in Syria.
In an interview with Saudi funded pan-Arab newspaper Al-Hayat, Mansoor Al-Turki, spokesperson for the Saudi Ministry of Interior, said that there are currently 1,540 Saudis fighting in Syria, 147 fighting in Yemen, 31 in Afghanistan and Pakistan, five in Iraq and 297 in various other parts of the world.
He added that 73 people have been arrested in Saudi Arabia for terror related activities.
“The figures we currently have on the number of Saudis joining Daesh are much lower than what most of us thought,” he said.