Brussels attacks highlight intelligence gap over number of jihadists Isis and al-Qaeda send to Europe
The IndependentFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Western security agencies are blind to the terror plots being hatched in the Middle East because of the unknown number of jihadists who have been dispatched to Europe by Isis and al-Qaeda. This worrying gap in intelligence was cruelly exposed in Tuesday’s bomb attacks in Brussels and reinforced by the arrests of a dozen more terror suspects trained in Syria who have been picked up in security operations across Belgium and France. And how many are planning terrorism?” The security services estimate that 800 British jihadists have gone to Syria, others put the number as high as 2,000. “The Club de Berne, made up of European Security Services; the Club de Madrid, made up of European Intelligence Services; Europol and the Situation Centre in the European Commission are, generally speaking, little more than forums for the exchange of analysis and views.” Here in the UK, MI5 and the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command have foiled seven plots linked to Syria in the past year.
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