Russian Man Sentenced For Fighting Beside Islamic State In Syria

A resident of Russia's Chelyabinsk region in the Urals has been sentenced to four years in jail on terrorism charges.

A court in the city of Magnitogorsk also sentenced the 43-year old man on September 19 to one year of "freedom limitation," which is similar to a suspended sentence with parole limitations.

The man, whose name was not disclosed, was found guilty of fighting against Syrian government troops alongside Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria from April to June 2015.

In recent months, several members of banned Islamic groups have been arrested or sentenced in the Chelyabinsk region, which borders Kazakhstan and Russia's mainly Muslim region of Bashkortostan.

Russian officials have said at least 5,000 Russians and citizens of other ex-Soviet republics have traveled to Syria and Iraq to join IS extremists.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax