‘Up to 80 IS agents in Europe’

THREAT: Would-be militants heeding group’s call to attack continent, says expert

INTELLIGENCE experts estimate that the Islamic State (IS) militant group has between 60 and 80 operatives in Europe to carry out attacks, the Dutch counterterrorism coordinator said on Friday.

Dick Schoof said would-be fighters were heeding messages from IS “asking them not to come to Syria and Iraq, but to prepare attacks in Europe”.

One result is that, over the last six months, the number of foreign terrorist fighters hasn’t grown, he said, but the fact that they’re not travelling “does not mean that the potential threat of those who would have travelled is diminished”.

Schoof said military operations to oust IS from its self-declared caliphate in Syria and Iraq were scattering its fighters and supporters.

This would probably lead to an increase of refugees that would pose a danger to the national security of the Netherlands and other European countries, he said.

Schoof said even though the Netherlands hasn’t been hit by an attack by Islamic extremists such as in Belgium and France, “the chance of an attack in the Netherlands is real”.

“We have seen 294 Dutch terrorist fighters go to Iraq and Syria and there are still 190 over there. What happened in France, Brussels and Germany could happen to us.”

There are probably between 4,000 and 5,000 European terrorist fighters in Iraq and Syria, Schoof said.

While the number from the Netherlands, a nation of 17 million people, might seem low, he said: “Whether there’s 190 or 350, I think the number is big enough to worry”.

He said the Netherlands’ programme to deal with the threat balances “repression and prevention” and relies on cooperation between local and national authorities.

On the “repression” side, he said, returning fighters from Syria or Iraq were taken into custody, and courts have recently handed down six-year prison sentences in several cases.

The government also takes away passports, freezes assets and has beefed up security measures and the police force, he said.

On prevention, Schoof said, there’s family support with local authorities deciding the best interventions and providing education and psychological help if needed.

The Hague Mayor Jozias van Aartsen said building trust and having close relations with the Muslim community was important.

“They are Dutch citizens. There are some here who say shut down mosques. That’s wrong.”

But Van Aartsen said there was a need for vigilance.

“The local government can be important as a watchdog against radicalisation,” he said. AP