In an unprecedented move, Belgian authorities have conducted 48 raids throughout the nation to identify recruiters who send belgians to Syria to fight with the insurgents.
The raids netted six arrests. All six were suspected to conduct 'jihadist' drives to recruit as many as possible young men to help rid Syria of Bashar al Assad.
The efforts is the result of a Europe wide investigation that was begun last year. It sought to minimize foreign recruitment and intervention from EU countries to Syria which could be overtaken by foreign jihadists who have second aims besides the removal of the dictator.
The Belgian government has stated that they are focusing on the most radical group, Sharia4Belgium, and considers the members of this groups a bona fide terrorist enterprise. The Belgian government has already identified 33 people who are affiliated or members of the group that are already in Syria or in transit.
What this efforts aims to accomplish is to avoid the militarization and radicalization of european citizens who are recruited in the EU theatre and could become themselves, at their return from Syria or likewise areas of conflict, with extremist goals and mindsets and bring jihadist aims for the rest of Europe. They also could come back with expertise in urban warfare and bombmaking.
Syria is already infiltrated by a large number of foreign fighters, be they for or against the dictator, but they are mostly from countries like Jordan, Iraq or the Maghreb. But these people are already engaged in long term terrorist activities in their own countries or abroad. What the EU is trying to avoid is to have their own citizens turn to jihadist groups and then become independently active and operate withing European countries.
Partial source: nyt 4.17.13
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