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European Jihadists: The Latest Export

(Gatestone Institute) Soeren Kern - More than 1,000 Muslims from across Europe are currently active as Islamic jihadists, or holy warriors, in Syria, which has replaced Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia as the main destination for militant Islamists seeking to obtain immediate combat experience. European officials are beginning to express concerns about the threat these "enemies within" will pose when they return to Europe. British authorities say more than 100 British Muslims have gone to fight in Syria. In July 2012, British freelance photographer John Cantlie, along with Dutch photographer Jeroen Oerlemans, was abducted by a group of British jihadists near Idlib in northwestern Syria. Both were later rescued by "moderate" fighters linked to the Free Syrian Army. In an account of his experience published in The Sunday Times on August 5, 2012, Cantlie wrote: "I ended up running for my life, barefoot and handcuffed, while British jihadists - young men with south London accents - shot to kill. They were aiming their Kalashnikovs at a British journalist, Londoner against Londoner....This wasn't what I had expected."
2013-03-28 00:00:00
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