Hundreds of Europeans have joined rebel forces in Syria to fight against Bashar Assad, according to the most comprehensive study on the issue to date, and while their motivations vary from thrill-seeking to religious conviction, the European Union's counter-terrorism chief warns some of them could return home as dangerous Islamic radicals.
The EU's Gilles de Kerchove told the BBC there were at least 500 Europeans taking part in Syria's civil war, and it was "likely many of them will be radicalized" fighting alongside some of the known Muslim extremist militias in the country, and that the returning EU nationals would pose, "a serious threat" to security in European nations.
Peter Neumann, Director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization (ICSR) at London's King's College, says he believes the number of fighters from countries including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, Belgium( and the Netherlands) to be "at least in the mid-hundreds to high-hundreds."
Note EU-Digest: the EU organization Eurojust based in the Hague and the Dutch organization "Muslims and Government" (CMO) are concerned about the fact that in the past few months more young Dutch Muslims have left to join the fight in Syria with radical Muslim fighters, including the Jabath al-Nusra terrorist group, than in the whole past year. The major concern is that when these radicalized fighters return to their home countries in Europe they could become a danger to society.
Read more: At least 500 Europeans fighting with Syria rebels, study finds, stoking radicalization fears - CBS News
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