Senior intelligence officer: Thousands of British ISIS militants 'to attack UK'

A counter terrorism specialist said that hundreds of British nationals have joined ISIS in Iraq and could be used to attack Britain.

17:29 19 June 2014

Lahoor Talabani, the director of counter terrorism for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), has warned that hundreds of British ISIS militants could be used to attack the UK. He added that there are about 450 Britons amongst the ISIS ranks and that the West should not see the conflict as solely against the Iraqi government. 

 

Mr Talabani, who claimed that his intelligence report saying that ISIS were planning to seize Mosul and push towards Baghdad was ignored when relayed to the US and Iraqi government in January, said: "According to the intelligence we have, just Britain alone has around 400 to 450 known people fighting amongst the ranks of ISIS."

 

He added: "I disagree with those people who think this is nothing to do with us and if they want to have some sort of extreme Islamist regime in the middle of Iraq, that won't affect us. It will."

 

Around 150 Australians are also thought to be fighting with militants in Syria and Iraq. Based on the advice of security agencies, their passports have been cancelled.