Cat got your gun? Iraq, Syria jihadist pictures go viral

There's no scaredy-cats here, Islamist jihadists allegedly fighting in Iraq and Syria want us to know as many of the fighters have recently posted pictures of cats and guns on their personal social media accounts.

Thousands of reportedly foreign fighters traveled to Syria and Iraq to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) fighters, who have been gaining a stronghold, massive swathes of land, especially in Iraq.

Many international leaders have acknowledged the danger of posed by their nationals fighting alongside jihadist extremists.

Role model

Last May, an American citizen from Florida, fighting with al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front, carried out a suicide bombing in Syria’s Idleb province.

The 22-year-old Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha operated under war name Abu Hurayra al-Amriki. His name is taken from Abu Hurayra, a nickname given to one of Prophet Mohammad’s companions, who always kept a hurayra (kitten) with him.

Similarly, in a photo released by the rebel group’s supporters, Abu-Salha was carrying a little kitten in his hands, while wearing an explosive belt.

In one of the images, a fighter dubbed his cat a "little mujahid," nicknaming the feline as his jihadist companion.

International concern

British Prime Minister David Cameron said that UK nationals and other citizens fighting alongside Islamist insurgents in Iraq and Syria pose the biggest danger to his country’s national security, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

"No-one should be in any doubt that what we see in Syria and now in Iraq in terms of ISIS is the most serious threat to Britain’s security that there is today," Cameron was quoted as saying at a joint news conference with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

"The number of foreign fighters in that area, the number of foreign fighters including those from the UK who could try to return to the UK is a real threat to our country," he added.

Nine European countries endorsed plans to boost collaboration and intelligence-sharing, to crackdown on radical websites and try to stop their citizens from going to fight and bringing violence and extremism back home with them.

Last May, the U.S.’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced that the number of citizens who traveled to fight alongside Islamist insurgents in Syria has increased by a few dozen since the beginning of this year, expressing concern over the influence of the hardline jihadists on foreign fighters, who would become radicalized and import extremism when they return home, The Associated Press reported.