International Shia News Agency

Extremists’ number hits 3000 in UK

SHAFAQNA – A new report says, British counter-terrorism officials are monitoring 3,000 extremists in the country that they fear could make terror attacks.

According to Financial Times, the figure is higher than previous estimates. In late 2007, Britain’s domestic intelligence agency said the security service was monitoring 2,000 people. The number had been stable until recent months, but the rise of ISIL has expanded their ranks.

Senior security officials said there was real concern over the impact social media was having on radical individuals in Britain and its ability to magnify the appeal of extremist groups in the Middle East.

The focus of counter-terrorism efforts in Europe until now has been on preventing citizens from travelling to Syria and Iraq to join terror groups. An estimated 3,000 Europeans have travelled to fight there, among them more than 500 Britons. But individuals who remain at home are increasingly being seen as high priority targets for monitoring as the incidence of “lone wolf” terror attacks grows.

Many will never have traveled abroad or been official members of terrorist organisations, underscoring the growing problem facing intelligence and security agencies across Europe in tracking radical communities of home-grown terrorists.

They are becoming harder to track too, British officials say, because they are less likely to be members of groups or well-connected networks.

Source : Press TV

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