The massive ground offensive to re-capture the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State terrorists may push “violent militants” to return to Europe, where even a small number could pose “a very serious threat,” an EU security commissioner has warned.
Sir Julian King, a British diplomat and the newly-appointed EU Commissioner for the Security Union, said in an interview with Die Welt that Islamists can easily make it into Europe, even with fake IDs.
“Re-taking the Islamic State [IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL] stronghold in northern Iraq can lead to a scenario in which violent militants would return to Europe,” he told the newspaper. “This is a very serious threat and we must be prepared to face it.”
Some 2,500 EU nationals are currently fighting alongside IS in various hotspots across the Middle East, according to King. “Similar cases like that of Afghanistan have shown that only a few of [foreign fighters] come back at the end of the day, as many of them die in action or seek to move to other war zones.”
Though a mass exodus of IS militants to Europe after the fall of Mosul is unlikely, the threat should not be underestimated as “even a small number of them is still a considerable threat,” he stressed.
The warning comes as the much-anticipated battle for Mosul enters its second day. Islamic State seized Mosul in June of 2014, when it was Iraq’s second-largest city, and the terror group’s leader then turned it into major military stronghold. It is believed that 4,000 to 8,000 IS militants are entrenched in Mosul, according to Reuters.
While humanitarian organizations say they expect “hundreds of thousands” of locals to flee the besieged city, some unconfirmed media reports hint that thousands of IS "fighters" have also been offered “safe passage” out.
[rt.com]
18/10/16
Sir Julian King, a British diplomat and the newly-appointed EU Commissioner for the Security Union, said in an interview with Die Welt that Islamists can easily make it into Europe, even with fake IDs.
“Re-taking the Islamic State [IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL] stronghold in northern Iraq can lead to a scenario in which violent militants would return to Europe,” he told the newspaper. “This is a very serious threat and we must be prepared to face it.”
Some 2,500 EU nationals are currently fighting alongside IS in various hotspots across the Middle East, according to King. “Similar cases like that of Afghanistan have shown that only a few of [foreign fighters] come back at the end of the day, as many of them die in action or seek to move to other war zones.”
Though a mass exodus of IS militants to Europe after the fall of Mosul is unlikely, the threat should not be underestimated as “even a small number of them is still a considerable threat,” he stressed.
The warning comes as the much-anticipated battle for Mosul enters its second day. Islamic State seized Mosul in June of 2014, when it was Iraq’s second-largest city, and the terror group’s leader then turned it into major military stronghold. It is believed that 4,000 to 8,000 IS militants are entrenched in Mosul, according to Reuters.
While humanitarian organizations say they expect “hundreds of thousands” of locals to flee the besieged city, some unconfirmed media reports hint that thousands of IS "fighters" have also been offered “safe passage” out.
[rt.com]
18/10/16
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