About one-third of the 5,000 European jihadis who have travelled to Syria and Iraq have returned to Europe, according to a new report from the European Union.
Up to 1,750 terrorists may have returned to Europe, while 2,500 European fighters remain on the battlefields. The remaining 15 to 20 percent are believed to be dead.
EU counter-terrorism coordinator Gilles de Kerchove will present the findings to EU interior ministers Friday.
An undisclosed number of fighters have been sentenced to prison terms upon their return while others are under surveillance by authorities.
An alarming concern is that many have been sent back to carry out “special missions.”
“Those in the majority that will drift back, and those who will be sent back on specific missions, which are of most concern,” an excerpt from the report reads, according to AFP.
Women and children who grew up in the caliphate could pose a serious risk in the future if they were radicalized during their time in the Middle East. ISIS fighters from Libya make up another new trend as they could use relatives and other connections to make it to Europe.
“There is also a significant foreign terrorist fighter contingent with Daesh in Libya which might attempt to use their nationality or family connections to return to Europe,” the report reads.
Europol Director Rob Wainwright previously warned that the return of jihadis will become a “long, long struggle” for European countries.
“That’s going to be a long, long struggle for us to deal with the numbers involved and how we can get them back into society, plus sort out which among them pose the biggest security threat,” Wainwright told the Evening Standard in an August interview.
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