Islamic State still dangerous threat to UK and more unpredictable

Islamic State poses a challenge to all countries in the world, while rival terrorist group al Qaeda is resurgent and could be plotting attacks in Europe, the UK’s security minister said.

Ben Wallace said the IS threat in the UK is “dangerous” and becoming more unpredictable following the collapse of the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate in Iraq and Syria this year.

He also said 250 Britons, including fighters aligned to IS, remain in the two countries. A number of these individuals have been detained in camps but others are still at large.

The group’s ability to use the internet to attract recruits and inspire attacks enables its global reach, the minister told Sky News in an interview at the Home Office.

“That means that everyone has potentially an ISIS problem in every country around the world and that that needs to be addressed collectively as a group of international nations but also in investing in countering harms online,” he said.

Asked about the IS threat to Britain and whether it was changing following the group’s defeat in Iraq and Syria, Mr Wallace said: “It is a different type of threat because at the moment it’s manifesting itself in lone actors and people self-inspired from here who’ve never been to Syria

“And that puts a huge resource pressure on MI5 and the police because they have to watch one person who may be just literally talking to themselves on one day and the next day they’ll go and grab a knife or a truck.

Source: Sky News