Returning jihadis pose a considerable challenge, security officials warn

Security officials in Britain are urgently preparing for the return of hundreds of UK nationals who travelled to Syria to fight IS, with Minister of State for International Development Rory Stewart confirming 40,000 foreign fighters from more than 110 countries have joined ISIL. The news comes as the jihadi group’s strongholds in Mosul in Iraq and Raqqa in northern Syria, are expected to fall in the next few months, prompting ‘deeply indoctrinated’ UK nations to ‘return with the intention of planning and executing future attacks.’ EU officials have admitted that intelligence services operating at a central counter-terror group in the Hague, do not have the resources to retain eyes on all suspects. UK officers outlined that keeping tabs on the movements of fighters in the UK is challenging, however monitoring movements in other countries such as Tunisia, Indonesia and Algeria, where the security apparatus is less sophisticated is particularly difficult. According to a report in the Guardian, one government source said: “It is possible they are going to return indoctrinated, deeply dangerous and damaged. The only analogous experience we have is handling children caught up in extreme religious sects. It is a huge challenge for family courts and social care.”