A top British official warned Sunday of the growing number of Brits going to Somalia and Syria for jihadi training, only to bring that dangerous knowledge back to their homeland, the Telegraph reported.
“What we have seen for some time now, is that a number of British people travelling out to Somalia, we’re now seeing people travel out to Syria,” British Home Secretary Theresa May told BBC1’s Andrew Marr. “Obviously, in those circumstances, some of those people are potential terrorists, some of whom may get training, and in some cases may actually engage in conflict and then return to the U.K.”
She said that while a report referred to them as “foreign fighters,” she viewed them as “potential terrorists, some of whom will be of a Jihadi mind-set,” the Telegraph reported.
In March, the British Home Office’s annual report, “The United Kingdom’s Strategy for Countering Terrorism,” said there were “hundreds” of these potential terrorists.
“There are now hundreds of foreign fighters from Europe in Syria. And when UK residents return here there is risk that they may carry out attacks using the skills that they have developed overseas,” the report said.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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