Homeless Islamic State poses threat to Europe’s peace
The thousands of Europeans who left for Iraq and Syria to wage jihad will return after defeats
Berlin — Europe faces a new influx of Islamic State (IS) jihadists if Iraqi forces retake the group’s stronghold Mosul, officials and analysts warned on Tuesday, adding to fears on a continent battered by Islamist attacks. Thousands of Europeans have left for Iraq and Syria over the past two years to wage jihad, but after IS suffered a string of territorial defeats in 2016 in both countries, some of its fighters have begun returning to the continent. As Iraqi forces press their offensive in Mosul, the "caliphate" declared two years ago by IS, experts urged Europe to prepare itself for more battle-hardened jihadists ready to launch attacks back home. "The retaking of IS’s northern Iraq stronghold, Mosul, may lead to the return to Europe of violent IS fighters," the EU’s commissioner for security Julian King told German daily Die Welt. King thought it was unlikely that there would be a mass exodus of IS fighters from Mosul to Europe, but he stressed that even a handful of jihadists re...
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