Islamic State has sent more than 1,500 jihadi terrorists back to Europe from Middle East warzones, with orders to “carry out attacks”, a European Union report has said.
An estimated 5,000 extremists travelled to Syria and Iraq with around 15-20 percent of those being killed on the battlefield, Express.co.uk reported.
Between 30-35 percent of those that joined the terrorist organisation have been sent back to Europe with “specific missions” with those remaining staying to fight.
According to the report, which will be delivered by the EU’s Counter-Terrorism Co-ordinator Gilles de Kerchove later today, there are two types of “foreign terrorist fighters” returning to the continent.
The report said: “There are largely two categories of returnees: those in the majority who will drift back and those who will be sent back on specific missions, which are of most concern.”
It also stressed the importance of European countries sharing information about the members of the Islamic fundamentalists.
The report also claimed some women and children born or raised in the caliphate could have been radicalised during their time there and could also pose a threat.
The report said returnees were keeping in touch with ISIS in the Middle East via social media and increasingly turning from mainstream Twitter to the encrypted one-to-one messaging service Telegram.
Fighters were not just limited to areas of Syria and Iraq, the report also indicated, with members of the terror group – also known as Daesh – also present in countries such as Libya.
