if Arabized Turkmen are also taken into consideration; some estimations indicate that only 30% of Turkmen still speak their mother tongue, therefore, the Arabic-speaking Turkmen are likely to be omitted from the Sunni Turkmen population estimates. Circassians Most Circassians in Syria are Sunni Muslims. They form the fifth largest ethnic group in the country (around 1.5% in 2013) but the fourth largest Sunni Muslim community in Syria. They live mostly in three Syrian governorates: the Hama Governorate, the Homs Governorate and the Quneitra Governorate. Most Circassians speak very good Arabic but they have also retained their mother tongue. In 1991, Professor Alasdair Drysdale and Professor Raymond Hinnebusch said that less than 1% of the country was formed of Sunni Muslim Circassians. Shias Other Muslims in the country, who do not practice Sunni Islam, form up to 16% of the population and are formed of mostly Alawites (11%) and other Shias (such as Ismailis). These Muslim sects include diverse ethnic groups, including: Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen/Turkoman, and other smaller communities. Alawites The Alawites are the second largest religious group in Syria, after the Sunni Muslims. They are divided into two main groups: traditional Alawites, who form the majority, and the minority Murshid Alawites (which rose from a modern schism in the Alawite sect at the beginning of the 20th century). In 1991, Professor Alasdair Drysdale and Professor Raymond Hinnebusch said that approximately Alawites formed 11.5% of the country's population. More recently, Dr. Pierre Beckouche said that 11% of the country's population was Alawites. The Alawites mainly live in the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range, particularly in the countryside of the Latakia governorate and the Tartus Governorate on the western side of the mountains, and in the countryside of the Homs Governorate and Hama Governorate on their eastern side. They form a majority (around 60%) in Latakia and Tartus. In the Homs and Hama areas, they make up around 10% of the population in both the countryside and the cities, living in Talkalakh, Al-Mukharram, Al-Qabo, Shin, Al-Riqama, the Houla plain, Maryamin, Qarmas, Al Muhani, and the areas of Zahra and Naziha. A third of the 250,000 Alawite men of military age have been killed fighting in the Syrian Civil War. The Alawites have suffered as a result of their support for the Assad government against the mainly Sunni Arab opposition. Ismailis The Ismailis form the second largest Shia group in the country. According to