Updated

Kosovo's top Muslim leaders are calling on the country's youths who have joined rebels in Syria to stop fighting and come back home.

The Islamic Community of Kosovo said in a statement Wednesday that fighting in Syria "has nothing to do with religious principles" and it only prolongs the life President Bashar Assad's government and the suffering of Syrian people.

Authorities say some 150 ethnic Albanians are believed to have joined foreign rebels in Syria's and some 12 are believed to have been killed there.

The plea comes days after Kosovo authorities arrested six ethnic Albanians suspected of plotting a terrorist attack, including one believed to have fought alongside Syrian rebels.

Authorities in the predominantly-Muslim Kosovo are worried about the rise of extremism in this staunchly pro-American country.