UK refusal to prosecute nearly 90% of Syrian militants

File photo shows Takfiri militants in the Syrian city of Idlib. © AFP

Only one in eight British militants who fought alongside terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq have faced prosecution after returning to the UK. 

Lord Keen, a Home Office spokesman, said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) conducted just 35 cases, involving 54 British nationals accused of joining Takfiri groups in the two Arab countries, with another 13 cases involving 30 individuals ongoing. Yet, since 2012, an estimated 400 British citizens have joined the Daesh Takfiri group and al-Qaeda-affiliated militants before returning to the UK. 

Officials estimate at least 800 UK nationals have fought in Syria and Iraq in terror groups. Experts believe these individuals pose a major security threat to the UK, with many returning undetected.  Daesh terrorists repeatedly call on members to carry out attacks in their home countries. One such attack in the French capital, Paris, last November, left 130 dead. Estimates put the deaths in the Syrian conflict since March 2011 at over 400,000.

 


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