TerrorismEUROPOL: 3,000-5,000 ISIS-trained jihadi fighters living in Europe

EUROPOL director Rob Wainwright warned ISIS is planning more attacks in Europe.

Talking with the German newspaper Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, Wainwright that the Paris attacks last November showed that ISIS had gained an international dimension and that more attacks were expected.

“Europe is currently facing its biggest terrorist threat in more than ten years,” Wainwright said.

Wainwright warned that the high number of “international fighters” — Europeans who have gained combat experience in Syria – makes it possible for ISIS to launch attacks in Europe.

The Telegraph reports that Europol estimates that there are between 3,000 and 5,000 international fighters who returned to Europe from Syria.

“The growing number of foreign fighters is presenting EU countries with completely new challenges,” Wainwright told NOZ.

Wainwright noted, though, that the stream of refugees coming into Europe from Syria does not necessarily contribute to the terrorist threat. “There is no concrete evidence that terrorists systematically use the stream of refugees to pass through to Europe undetected,” Wainwright said.

“It is to be expected that ISIS or other religious terrorist groups will carry out an attack somewhere in Europe — with the aim of killing as many civilians as possible.”

Wainwright stressed that the threat of terrorist attacks is posed not only by groups, but also from individuals. “In addition, there is a risk of individual terrorists, this has not been reduced,” he said.

EUROPOL has opened the European Counter Terrorism Center in January. The center collects terrorism-related information from European countries, and facilitates better communication and coordination among European police forces.