Islamic State recruiters are targeting vulnerable refugees in Europe to radicalise them in an effort to further polarise the European Union population, counter-terror experts have warned. Europol, the law enforcement agency of the EU, said it was in the interests of Islamic State to inflame the migration crisis and to turn EU citizens against refugees seeking asylum. A number of jihadis are already travelling through Europe for this purpose and German authorities were aware of about 300 recorded attempts to recruit refugees trying to enter Europe by April 2016, Europol said in its report, Changes in Modus Operandi of IS revisited. Gilles de Kerchove, EU counter-terrorism coordinator, said: “We have to be vigilant, since the threat posed by the so-called Islamic State and returning foreign fighters is likely to persist in the coming years. These people are trained to use explosives and firearms and they have been indoctrinated by the jihadist ideology.”

Source: The Guardian December 02, 2016 08:35 UTC