250 UK-based militants return from Syria, sources say

Some 250 UK-based militants who had been operating in Syria are now back home, security sources say.

Senior UK security officials said the “extremist tourists” pose growing danger to British people, according to The Sunday Times.

UK spy agencies are said to be closely monitoring the returnees, including several veteran hardliners who have operated in Afghanistan or Pakistan.

European Union (EU) countries alongside Britain, one of the Western supporters of militants in Syria, have already expressed concern over threat of terror attacks from extremist groups trained in Syria.

According to reports, some EU intelligence agencies have even held secret meetings with Syrian government officials about their concerns. The talks involve British, French, German and Spanish spy agencies.

Last month, senior UK police official Peter Fahy warned that anyone traveling to Syria from the UK will be detained after returning home.

Fahy said there is a “huge concern” about those who travel to Syria, adding that they will be arrested and stopped at the border if they try to come back.

A study by British defense consultancy IHS Jane’s published last September showed that about 100,000 militants, fragmented into 1,000 groups, were operating inside Syria and carrying out atrocities against people and Syrian soldiers.

According to reports, more than 300 British nationals, along with militants from the United States, Canada, France, and the Netherlands, have joined the foreign-backed militant groups in Syria.

The country has been gripped by a deadly crisis since March 2011. Millions have been displaced due to the turmoil.