Defeated IS killers plan new attacks in Europe
Why Defence Secretary was right to raise alarm...
A CAPTURED Islamic State fighter last night warned jihadis were heading to Europe to launch attacks.
Saddam al-Hamadi, 26, was arrested last month after the fall of the group’s de- facto capital of Raqqa in Syria.
He was captured by Turkish security forces after exploiting an evacuation deal designed to free civilians. Those on the ground fear foreign fighters were secretly able to escape as part of the pact.
Al-Hamadi was detained as he reached the border.
He said other extremists plan to use the chaos of the fall of Islamic State to travel to Europe.
His warning comes after Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson last week vowed to ‘destroy’ the remaining 270 British citizens who remain in the war-ravaged region and have not yet been killed.
In comments which sparked fury from Labour, the Lib Dems and the legal establishment, he declared: ‘A dead terrorist can’t cause any harm to Britain.
‘I do not believe that any terrorist, whether they come from this country or any other, should ever be allowed back into this country. We should do everything we can to destroy and eliminate that threat.’
Last night Al-Hamadi explained that extremists who had fled Raqqa were heading to Europe. He told ITV News: ‘They will go overseas to launch terrorist attacks in some areas in Europe.’
He added: ‘They went to Europe after the withdrawal. Before that they thought the Europeans were infidels, non-believers. They will get out, cross Turkey and into Europe where they will launch terrorist attacks and other things.’
Al-Hamadi said he had helped to smuggle IS recruits into Raqqa. He said that during his 18 months there, many frontline roles were reserved for foreign fighters, including Britons. He claimed he used his knowledge of smuggling routes into IS territory to find a way out.
He told Turkish interrogators that he was attempting to get to Europe to earn a living for his family in Syria, not to commit acts of terrorism. A judge will hear his case later this week.
Military chiefs fear the collapse of the group’s so-called caliphate will encourage some fighters to launch attacks in Europe.
Some 800 Britons have travelled to Iraq and Syria to fight for Islamic State, and around half of them have returned. Whitehall officials fear radicalised returners are likely to present a growing threat to Britain’s national security as IS territory shrinks in Syria.