Fewer ISIS sympathizers returned to Sweden last year

Around ten people with links to Isis returned to Sweden last year after travelling to the terror organization’s areas in Syria or Iraq, according to the head of the Swedish security police.

Sweden’s security police Säpo has said that the flow of people travelling from Sweden to join Isis in the Middle East has dwindled in recent years. The number of people returning has also dropped.

“There’s been very little movement in the past year,” newswire TT quoted Säpo chief Anders Thornberg as saying, speaking at Sweden’s annual security conference ‘Folk och Försvar’ in ski resort Sälen.

He said around ten had returned in the past year, adding that Säpo keeps track of them.

“We assess each individual, if they are suspected of terrorist offences or other crime. If it’s a terror crime we take care of it, if it’s other types of crime we hand it over to others,” said Thornberg.

“If they are not considered dangerous, it can be handed over to the police who can alert social authorities.”

Säpo has previously said that around 300 people are believed to have travelled to Iraq and Syria to fight, with around 100 leaving in the peak year of 2013. By 2015 the number had dropped to five.

Source: The Local