|
Europe sees hard boyz recruiting as side effect of Iraq war
Europe is suffering a side-effect of the US-led war in Iraq as militants recruit volunteers across the continent to go and join the insurgency there, the European Unions counter-terrorism chief said.Its a fact that in several European countries, the police have had to arrest people who were actively trying to recruit people from Europe to join the jihad in Iraq. Thats a complication, Gijs de Vries told Reuters in an interview. To keep track of these people is a complication. These are the unintended side-effects of that war. We must live with that reality, and we must do everything we can to limit the risk of attacks in Europe being the result. De Vries was speaking after cases in Europe raised concerns about the extent of recruitment activity. Spain this month detained 15 people suspected of mobilising Islamist fighters for Iraq, and said one of the recruits had killed 19 Italians in a suicide bombing in Iraq in 2003. French officials last year said several young men from Paris had already died in fighting or suicide operations in Iraq. Police in southern France detained four men and two women last week in a probe into Islamist recruitment for the insurgency. De Vries said most foreigners fighting in Iraq were from North Africa, Saudi Arabia or other non-European countries, but a number were from the continent. We do not know how many of them will survive, we do not know how many of them will return, he said. But we do take very seriously the risk that some may return, having picked up skills that would be extremely dangerous if practised in Europe. De Vries said some of the recruitment activity in Europe was traceable to the network of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Al Qaedas leader in Iraq, but other groups were also involved. Posted by: Dan Darling 2006-01-27 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=140877 |