Hundreds of Americans Have ISIL Links – US Senator

US Senator Mike Rogers, a Republican from Michigan, said there are hundreds of Americans who have connections with Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS) terrorists.

Rogers, the head of the House Intelligence Committee, voiced out on Sunday his fear that the Americans with ISIS links could enter the US using their American passports. He also mentioned that some of them trained with the militant group, Chinatopix reported.

Senator Rogers said some of those Americans have gone back to the US and some to Europe. He said the attack on the Jewish Museum in Brussels was believed to be an ISIL-led activity, according to National Review.

The Michigan lawmaker revealed that the US intelligence agency is monitoring the said Americans who have traveled or trained with ISIL at least once. In his opinion, these people should be officially charged once found out to have assisted the terrorist group in any way.

In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Rogers said the US and British citizens who fly home after training with the Islamist militants pose a “very serious threat.” He said a prosecution should be in order to discourage other people from following suit, Newsweek relayed.

On Thursday, US President Barack Obama issued a statement saying his administration still has not come up with a strategy to deal with the ISIL threat. He also said he does not plan to launch further military offensives against the group in the near future.

Critics preyed on Obama’s remarks, with the Senate Intelligence Committee chief saying Obama is being “too cautious” in addressing the ISIL problem.

Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain reportedly called out Obama’s calculated Iraq airstrikes as merely “reactive half-measures.”

FNA

R.S