War against Isis: Security services bracing for possible return of thousands of jihadists as group loses territory

For 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 Security services are examining plans for how to deal with thousands of Western jihadists who would seek to return to Europe as Isis continues to lose territory in its “caliphate” and suffer severe losses from pounding air strikes by the US-led coalition and Russia. A number of states are liaising on this, but the policies will depend to an extent on political and legal considerations in individual states.” open image in gallery Women and children celebrating after being freed from Isis in Manbij, one of the latest Syrian cities to be retaken from the group For the UK there is the further complication over intelligence sharing with European allies states following the referendum vote on European Union membership and what happens with such matters as the European arrest warrant. Around 27,000 foreign fighters are believed to have joined Isis since the start of Syria’s civil war five years ago, with between 5,000 and 7,000 of them arriving from Europe to join the group and other hardline rebel organisations such as Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda affiliate. The senior British security official said “making claims of thousands of jihadists already back in Europe obscures the real problem which lies ahead.