LONDON- Terrorist Threat in Britain grows as two hundred and fifty British-based “jihadists” returned home after training and fighting in Syria, senior British security officials said.
The high number of returnees is five times the number that was previously reported, the Sunday Times reported, and highlights the growing danger of extremist British traveling to Syria.
Security officials said they are closely monitoring the 250 returnees, including veterans who have fought in Afghanistan or Pakistan.
British Immigration Minister James Brokenshire said the terror threat posed by individuals who have trained in Syria is a big problem. He urged officials to be vigilant about travel between England and Syria, the BBC reported.
His comments come after a video emerged of a British man carrying out a terrorist suicide bombing in Syria.
Last fall, police thwarted one serious plot staged by a group of returned gunmen who were planning a gun attack on civilians in London. Gunmen with links to al-Qaida have been traveling to Syria from many countries since fighting broke out there in 2011.
H. Mustafa