`About 800 Islamist extremists preparing for attacks in Europe'
London:
About 800 Islamist extremists recruited by Islamic State or groups affiliated to the al-Qaida are preparing to launch attacks in Europe, according to a media report.
The Islamist fighters who have returned from Syria or Iraq are preparing to launch attacks in Europe, The Times reported, citing Spanish counterterrorism officers.
The Spanish officers referred to the number of jihadis residing on the continent who have been recruited by IS or groups affiliated to al-Qaida.Another 350 or so Britons have returned from fighting in the war zone, with security sources acknowledging that some are plotting attacks in the UK specifically. The warnings come after Ayoub El Khazzani, 25, a Moroccan gunman, was overpowered on a high-speed train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris on Friday . He was said to be an “Islamist returner,“ apparently having left France for Syria last year.
Counterterrorism sources quoted by Cadena Ser, a Spanish radio station, said about 800 extremists on the continent had been recruited by IS or al-Qaida-affiliated groups. They said they were waiting for instructions from support networks to commit atrocities when the opportunities arose. The sources were quoted as saying that they believed El Khazzani had been armed and given instructions by others before boarding the train, and discounted his claim that he was trying to carry out a robbery and was not a terrorist.
Anti-terrorist sources said they were tracking the movements of some of the 800 “returners“, but did not know the whereabouts of all of them.
The Islamic State may have used toxic chemical agents in an attack against civilians and rival insurgents in northern Syria late last week, according to local rebels and an international aid group.
The assault on Friday in the city of Marea involved more than 50 shells and was centered on civilian areas, the Syrian American Medical Society, a humanitarian group, reported. After the attack, the group's field hospital received more than 50 patients, 23 of whom, including some children, showed symptoms of chemical exposure, including coughing, vomiting, wheezing and severe itching. Some also had blisters associated with mustard gas, the society said. The report was corroborated by local rebel forces, who claimed that shells had been fired from Isnibil, a village east of Marea. A nurse at the field hospital run by the Society said he had noticed a strange odor on the clothes of the victims.
