by Güven Özalp
BRUSSELS
The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant's (ISIL) name change into “Islamic State” prefigures attacks outside of Iraq, namely in Europe, said a prominent EU official.
ISIL’s military operation and creation, on June 29th, of an Islamic caliphate – which stretches from eastern Iraq to parts of Syria - constitute a signal for more global implications, said EU’s Counter-terrorism Coordinator Gilles De Kerchove, in an exclusive interview to the Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.
“There is no doubt that ISIL’s military operations require military intervention," said De Kerchove. “ISIL’s establishment of a caliphate shows that they have global inclinations and targets, which is worrying.”
De Kerchove said he holds intelligence that ISIL’s Sunni militants have the ability to strike in Europe, namely through Europeans who went to fight in Syria and Iraq.
“However, this doesn’t mean that the attacks will occur right after they come back,” he said.
He stressed however that there is no specific information on where, when, or what type of attack may actually occur.
But De Kerchove said he believes that the attacks will be small in size, but will have devastating effects, even though, he insists, European response to these types of threats has been more effective since 9/11.
Gilles De Kerchove said “the numbers” constitute one of the most worrying aspects about ISIL. He estimates at more than 2,000, the number of Europeans who have gone to fight in Syria and Iraq.
“This many Europeans have never gone to join those kinds of groups before,” he said.
De Kerchove said that those “European soldiers” go through Turkey, seemingly on a trip, and proceed to cross the border to Syria or Iraq. The EU official believes these two destinations are more accessible to Europeans than, for instance Mali or Afghanistan, because, first of all, they are less expensive and, second, they constitute a more welcoming environment for them.
Turkey is taking the matter of those foreign soldiers seriously, De Kerchove said, reminding that Europe is cooperating with Turkey on intelligence sharing, border and aviation security.
“Turkey is making efforts, but no one has a magic wand,” he said.
Gilles De Kerchove also indicated that the EU is working with Muslim communities in Europe to address the problem of those “European soldiers,” stating that they are themselves victims of this issue.
But the "declaration of a caliphate (...) might attract more soldiers," warned the EU official.
"This group has gained an excessive amount of money by robbing banks [in Iraq], he added. They therefore have the financial resources for new military operations. These are enough arguments for us to be really careful.”
Militants affiliated with ISIL have seized vast swathes in northern Iraq since June 15, raising fears that they might set their sights on the capital Baghdad next.
www.aa.com.tr/en
