Warning sounded over ISIS jihadis en route to Europe
The French police have been given intelligence suggesting that a group of ISIS members has been dispatched from Syria for France and Belgium on a mission to carry out terrorist attacks. The information has reportedly come from one source and not been verified elsewhere. As a result, both countries have left their threat levels unchanged while they determine the credibility of the information. Belgium’s counter-terrorism police received the warning, which they then shared with their French counterparts, that a number of fighters left Syria 10 days ago. Travelling without passports, they are believed to be trying to reach Europe via Turkey and Greece. A shopping centre in Brussels and a US fast-food chain are said to be possible targets. 

Police have been alerted to the possibility that small groups of extremists have left Syria for France and Belgium with plans to stage attacks, but have left threat levels unchanged while authorities work to determine how credible the information is.

Belgian security services sent a note to French counterparts about the intelligence, and it was sent to police and anti-terrorism forces across France on Tuesday, a French security official said on Wednesday.

French authorities remain “very cautious” about the information because they receive such notes routinely, the official said. Belgian officials are cautious too, as the information is believed to be from a single intelligence source and has not been confirmed elsewhere.

France and Belgium have been on high alert since the Islamic State attack on Paris last year that killed 130 people, and the March suicide attacks in Brussels that left 32 people dead. Isis has also threatened violence during the European football championships taking place across France this month.

French and Belgian officials said the information did not change their governments’ overall understanding of the threat.

In Belgium, security experts say the information as such “has no direct impact on the current threat level,” according to a spokesman for the country’s federal crisis centre, Peter Mertens.

The threat analysis centre said on Wednesday that it was keeping Belgium’s security alert status at its current level of three out of a possible four, which means the threat is considered serious, possible and probable.

Belgium’s Dernière Heure tabloid reported on Wednesday that Belgium’s anti-terror office has warned police that fighters with access to weapons could have left Syria about 10 days ago bound for Belgium and France. It was the latest of several recent reports that fighters from Syria could pose an imminent threat.

The paper said fighters travelling without passports were believed to be trying to reach Europe by boat via Turkey and Greece. A Brussels shopping centre, an American fast-food chain and police were said to be among their targets. Belgian authorities said such targets were already under surveillance.

Given the heightened security fears in France at the moment, it would not be uncommon for Belgian authorities to pass on information without immediately verifying its credibility, said a security official with knowledge of the subject.

“The information regarding the possibility of a threat emanating from Syria … has not yet been verified,” said the official, on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak about the investigation. “It is also important to remember that credible intelligence shows there are hundreds of fighters already in Europe ready to strike. They are the real threat.”

Since the recent attacks, there is pressure for European security officials to share most of the information they get, even if it turns out to be false, the official said. He said this was especially true given the attacks in France, the Orlando shootings and security fears over the Euro 2016 football tournament.

It is not the first report that fighters might have been dispatched to Europe since the suicide attacks on the Brussels airport and subway on 22 March. On 19 April, the head of the crisis centre, Paul van Tigchelt, said there were signals from Isis that fighters had been sent to Europe, including Belgium.

A Brussels shopping centre, City 2, increased security after seeing the media reports, though it was not advised to by police. “We reinforced our security and closed off some of the entries to make checks easier at the other entries,” said spokeswoman Veronique Pirson.

The French official said it was unclear whether the Belgian intelligence had any link to the murder of two French police officials on Monday night by an Isis extremist.

The stabbing in a Paris suburb revived French concerns about the Isis threat. France’s president and prime minister warned on Wednesday that the world faced a prolonged battle to defeat terrorism. “I said we were at war, that this war will take a generation, that it will be long,” Prime Minister Manuel Valls said on France Inter radio.