A 29-year-old German kickboxer and two-time Muay Thai world champion of Albanian origin, Valdet Gashi, has joined ISIS and left for Syria to fight for the Islamists, Swiss media reports. According to the Swiss SRF (Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen) program Rundschau, Gashi joined ISIS in early January 2015 but he had been concealing his whereabouts for several months, so that his family believed he was in Thailand. To all my Family and friends: I am ok.... will be back soon.... i am working on a new Project and i had no Internet all the time. more Infos soonso dont worry ;)Posted by Valdet Gashi on 4 Февраль 2015 г. SRF journalists managed to reach him via telephone in mid-May. During a 90-minute telephone conversation, Gashi reportedly told journalists that he had a deep and profound understanding of the ISIS ideology and had gotten used to ISIS's ideas by now. "I want to do something good and to die while doing it. That is what would make me happy," he said. He also asked his friends and family not to denounce his decision as "they did not know the whole story," he Switzerland's 20 Minuten news. In Syria, Gashi is taking part in the establishment of a Caliphate, the SRF news network reports. In particular, he patrols an area along a stretch of the Euphrates tracking down smugglers and spies. He operates primarily near the city of Membij, close to the Turkish border. Some muay thai fans responded to the news about Valdet Gashi joining ISIS by a proposal to deprive him of all his sport titles. However, it is reported that he had not immediately left for Syria after joining ISIS. Initially, he came to the Swiss town of Winterthur, where he established a sports school named MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Sunna. There he had trained three young men at the ages from 16 to 20, all of whom along with the sister of the one of the trainees also joined ISIS and left for Syria. All three trainees attended the same mosque in Winterthur, 20 Minuten reported.
