Berlin:
Some 60 Germans have been killed while fighting under the banner of the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, the head of the German domestic intelligence service said Sunday.
"About 60 people from Germany have died or killed themselves, at least nine in suicide attacks," Hans-George Maassen told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
"That's a sad success for Islamist propaganda."
In all about 550 German nationals have joined the IS in the conflict zone, and of these 180 have returned to Germany, he said.
In mid-October, Germany announced new measures to prevent its citizens from travelling to join the jihadist cause in Iraq and Syria, including confiscating their identity papers.
Concerns are mounting in Europe over the growing national security threat posed by jihadists returning from the war-ravaged countries.