US intelligence: Islamic State fighters pose as Syrian refugees to enter Europe

An estimated 450 radical German Muslims have traveled in the direction of Syria and roughly 150 radical German Islamists have returned from Syria.

By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
Syrian refugees in Jordan, August 2014. (photo credit: REUTERS)
Syrian refugees in Jordan, August 2014.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
BERLIN – Islamic State combatants disguised as Syrian refugees fleeing the war-torn country want to enter Europe to launch terrorist attacks.
The German mass circulation Bild am Sonntag reported on Sunday that the “Americans succeeded in decoding locked communications of the ISIS leadership.”
The information from monitored ISIS conversations, also known as Islamic State, revealed that the terrorists cannot use airports on their way to Europe because of the strict control. Government officials confirmed the Bild am Sonntag report.
An official for German’s Interior Ministry told the paper that Germany stands in the “focus of jihadist terrorism,” but there is no indication at this time of any concrete attacks.
The Bild am Sonntag wrote,“In view of the chaotic conditions on the Syria-Turkey border, it is nearly impossible to catch ISIS-terrorists in the wave of refugees.“ German security authorities estimate that 450 radical German Muslims have traveled in the direction of Syria. An official from Germany’s intelligence told The Jerusalem Post that it is difficult to track radical German Islamists leaving Germany for Syria because they do not need a visa to first land in Turkey. The southern Turkey border has been the principal point of entry into Syria for jihadists seeking to fight Assad’s regime and create a caliphate state.
Roughly 150 radical German Islamists have returned from Syria and are currently in Germany. The Federal Republic outlawed Islamic State activities last month. The Lebanese political militia Hezbollah has legal status for its so-called political wing in Germany.
According to the Bild am Sonntag report, there is no evidence at this stage that “terrorists are already on the way to Germany or other Western European States.“ It is unclear if the German authorities view the 150 radical jihadists as terrorists who returned to the Federal Republic.
The daily Die Welt reported on Saturday that the number one goal for German jihadists is to fight in Syria.
German intelligence agencies, according to Die Welt, say some jihads, who were based in terror camps in the Afghanistan and Pakistan war theaters, are now in Syria or on their way to the country.
Al-Qaida and other jihadist groups attracted German Muslims to Pakistan and Afghanistan, where so-called German colonies were established.
German security officials told Die Welt that the German- Moroccans Yassin and Mounir Chouka and their wives Nele Ch. and Luisa S., as well as Seynabou S. from Hamburg, along with children, relocated from Pakistan to Syria. It is unclear if the terror group made it to Syria. Some of the group’s children were born in terror camps in Pakistan. While in Pakistan, the Choukas joined the terrorist group Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. Now, they have declared their allegiance to Islamic State.
The Choukas, who are originally from the West German city of Bonn, animated the radical Islamist Arid Uka, a 22-year-old Kosovo native who worked at Frankfurt’s airport, to murder two American airmen in March 2011.
The German Television station ARD reported last week that German authorities allowed – and even supported – the travel of violent Islamists over the years to foreign countries.
According to a government official, the thinking was “persons who are dangerous and could launch attacks are brought outside of the country.”
Der Spiegel reported on Sunday that Germany plans to submit the name of a former rapper, Denis Cuspert, known as the singer Deso Dogg, who is now a leading member of Islamic State, to be included in the UN’s sanctions list.
Meanwhile, a Belgian jihadist fighting in Syria worked in a sensitive area of a nuclear power plant in Belgium. The 26-year-old Ilyass Boughalab worked at Doel nuclear power station, according to the Belgium outlet VTM. He worked as a technician at the plant.