EuropeWest Asia

‘British ISIL militants much more than official estimate’

n00174770-b

The estimate by Birmingham Labour MP Khalid Mahmood questions the official British government reports which have put the number at around 500.

Mahmood has also revealed that there are radical groups in the UK being paid to invite young people to join the insurgent group.

London-based political analyst Issa Chaer says “it’s of the interest of the British government to release as low figures as they could because if they release the realistic number of the 2000, which I think they are about that figure, it undermines the British foreign policy, undermines their ability to control the borders and to allow the Jihadists to enter Syria and Iraq and leave the borders undetected.”

“Currently this number of foreign Jihadists is increasing more and more,” Chaer added in his interview with Press TV.

The comments by the British MP further highlight the issue of lax border controls which allow militants to leave the UK and return repeatedly. The Muslim lawmaker has criticized the UK Home Office for its failure to crack down on British militants.

The Muslim Council of Britain has also accused the government of not doing enough to stop the potential insurgents from leaving the country.

“I think there is a lack of transparency here and I think there is a lack of clear honesty in blocking fighters in going to Syria,” Chaer told Press TV. “There is a failure on behalf of the British and French governments on keeping their borders secured and preventing Jihadists and extremists from going into Syria”, the London-based analyst told Press TV.

This, as ISIL social networks have claimed that an average 20 Britons are joining them in the fight in Iraq and Syria on a daily basis.

Back to top button