1,500 terrorists arrived in Europe from Middle East — Russia

On Apr 18, 2019 16:11:51

Nearly 1,500 foreign terrorists, who fought in the Middle East, have moved and are in Europe now, Director of Russia’s Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov said on Thursday.

“Some 1,500 out of 5,000 terrorists have arrived in the European Union from the Middle East, according to experts’ estimates. A significant number of them are gunmen, who have been sent by chieftains to Europe to continue terrorist attacks,” Bortnikov said during a conference on countering international terrorism.

Despite major losses in Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State (ISIS) and al-Qaeda terrorist groups, and military groups affiliated with them still pose a serious threat, he said. “They managed to operate their forces based on a network principle. Interconnected and autonomous cells spread from the Middle East to Europe, Central and South East Asia, and major militant groups go deep into the African continent, in particular to Libya,” Bortnikov noted.

According to the FSB chief, the situation in Afghanistan is should be focused upon as terrorists from Syria have joined the terror groups, creating a threat for the Central Asian region’s states.