Increased alert level in Greece over fears of escaped Islamic State jihadists

With Turkey’s invasion of northeastern Syria, leading to the escape of ISIL jihadists from prisons, Greek security officials are on alert because of fears that the organization’s terrorists could infiltrate Europe.

According to sources quoted by the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, counter-terrorism experts from Europol will be deployed in the border region on November 1 as part of tightening security measures to capture jihadists from European Police Service databases. Police sources say that officials at the Foreign Office have updated and activated the so-called “risk indicators”, which are taken into account when registering newly arrived migrants and refugees.

An anonymous police officer has confirmed that “there are fears of returning of the so-called foreign fighters to Europe”. He added, however, that authorities in the US and Europe have information and keep track of which European jihadists remain detained or have fled and may try to return home.

In August, US Special Envoy for Syria James Jeffrey announced that 7,000 ISIL fighters were detained in Northeast Syria in prisons guarded by Kurdish units. Approximately 1,000 of them are European citizens who have traveled to Syria in previous years to participate in the “jihad” of the so-called caliphate created by ISIL.

Source: Novinite