Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Hunt is on for British IS ‘ghosts’
Attack fears as ‘hundreds off radar’
HUNDREDS of British jihadists who fought with ISIS in Syria and Iraq have dropped off the radar, the Government has admitted.
Around half the 850 who went out are now back in the UK and “about 15% to 20% have died”, said Security Minister Ben Wallace.
However he admitted many of those still in the region had disappeared.
He said there is a “significant number that it is hard to actually tie down exactly where they are”.
The revelation will fuel fears that the extremists could sneak back to Britain to launch a terror attack.
Mr Wallace said of the “ghost” fighters: “They went into a very hard part of Syria to reach, into the Euphrates valley, and dispersed. We are seeing, in dribs and drabs, some coming into Turkey, maybe trying to get back to us here.” Those who have already returned from Iraq and Syria are believed to be under intense scrutiny from police and MI5 as the defeat of IS has led to fears of massive reprisals. MI5 now has up to 500 “live” probes into possible plots. British fighters in Iraq and Syria – such as the nowdead “Jihadi John” Mohammed Emwazi – were among the most extreme towards captives. But it is thought the devastation in the former IS headquarters of Mosul, in Iraq, and Raqqa, in Syria, means it may never be known how many of them lie dead in the ruins.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson vowed to destroy “evil and barbaric” IS. In Iraq, he said it was critical to UK security, adding: “We won’t stop until their global network is destroyed.”