Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
425 ISIS jihadis on the loose in Britain
Fighters allowed back in from Syria
MORE than 400 jihadists have returned to Britain, a former MI6 counter-terrorism chief has warned.
Around 850 individuals “of national security concern” went to Syria to join Islamic State, with half coming back, said Richard Barrett. “All returnees, whatever their reason for going home, will continue to pose some degree of risk,” he cautioned.
The numbers compare to around 300 in Germany and 270 in France, according to analysis published by the Soufan Centre and the Global Strategy Network.
Only Turkey (900), Tunisia (800) and Saudi Arabia (760) had more returning fighters.
The latest assessment notes there has also been a rise in the number of women involved in attacks – with nearly a quarter of plots in Europe from January to May involving females.
And the report highlights the risk of brainwashed children launching attacks. It is feared IS has recruited 1,000 youngsters for military training. Tory MP Philip Hollobone slammed the decision not to prosecute returning fighters, saying it sent a “positive signal for future potential jihadists to say we can go off and fight British services overseas”.
Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, the UK’S most senior counterterrorism police officer, told MPS: “Anybody coming back who we have still got a high degree of concern about, they are likely to be arrested and we will see if we can gather enough evidence.”
Security services are running about 500 live investigations involving 3,000 individuals at any one time, while 20,000 “subjects of interest” are under review. Pressing home the point more funding was desperately needed, Mr Rowley urged: “If you want to stay sufficiently well-matched against the threat, it will need a step in resources.”
Previous research has suggested overall more than 40,000 people have travelled to join Islamic State from more than 110 nations across the globe.
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince has promised the country will “return to a moderate, open Islam”. Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud said: “We will not waste 30 years dealing with extremist ideas, we will destroy them.”