British Home Secretary: Extremists Use Syria as Training ground before Returning

Local Editor

British Home Secretary Theresa May has warned that extremists "of a "Jihadi" mindset" are using the Syrian civil war "as a nursery" before returning to Britain as trained terrorists.
"What we have seen for some time now, is that a number of British people traveling out to Somalia, we're now seeing people travel out to Syria," May said on BBC 1's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday.

She said they are receiving live training in the Syrian civil war and then returning home to Britain. May added that many of them are already considered to be possible terrorists by UK security services.

While such members of the Syrian opposition have previously been called "foreign fighters," May said she viewed them as "potential terrorists, some of whom will be of a "jihadi" mindset."
May's comments come just days after Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem told the UN General Assembly that "terrorists from more than 83 countries" are operating in Syria, killing Syrian soldiers and civilians.

In March, the British Home Office's annual report titled ‘The United Kingdom's Strategy for Countering Terrorism' highlighted a similar threat.
"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.

As the war continues in Syria - more than two years after it first began - the Home Office still does not believe the country is safe from ‘home-comers.'

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team