Alert over 'new terror generation' as Britons die fighting in Syria

 
21 November 2013

Counter extremism experts today warned that Britain is facing a new, generation-long terrorist threat because of the Syrian civil war, as it emerged that four Britons have been killed fighting in the conflict.

Relatives said one of the men was Mohammed el-Araj, a 23-year-old former university student from Ladbroke Grove.

He is said to have joined the fighting after serving 18 months in prison here for violently protesting outside the Israeli embassy in 2009 — and to have died during an ambush of pro-government forces.

A report in The Times newspaper said three other men, all thought to be from London and to have fought alongside el-Araj, died during an assault by rebels on the Syrian army near Aleppo.

The four men are believed to have been among 30 Britons fighting with the al  Qaeda-linked al-Nusra front to topple Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad. Whitehall sources suggested that the true tally of British deaths in Syria was likely to be even higher and confirmed that Britons appeared to be “grouping together” as they took part in the fighting.

The disclosures — which follow estimates by MI5 that several hundred Britons have become involved in the Syrian civil war — will heighten concern about the conflict’s impact on this country, and today prompted warnings that it could fuel a new terrorist threat lasting decades.

Rafaello Pantucci, a counter-terror expert from the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said the Syrian conflict posed a “three-pronged” threat to Britain.

One danger was that returning fighters could be “directed” by overseas militants to carry out attacks here, while another risk was of “angry” radicalised Britons carrying out “self-starting” outrages in an attempt to “punish” this country for standing by as their fellow Muslims were dying in Syria.

Mr Pantucci suggested, however, that the most severe impact could be the “incubator” effect as the jihadi ideology spread by the Syrian conflict inspired a new generation of extremists in Britain.

“The real worry is that Syria will create a new generation inspired by jihadi ideas. Some of these people will have gone from Libya to Syria and will be pretty tough guys with a lot of street credibility when they return.”

Meanwhile, a photograph of Mr el-Araj published today shows him standing in paramilitary uniform carrying an AK-47 assault rifle alongside other heavily armed militants in Syria.

A family friend said that the Londoner, who was jailed in 2010 for his actions outside the Israeli embassy in Kensington, had become radicalised three years ago and started “saying crazy things about Islam” and going to a mosque.

MI5 director general Andrew Parker warned recently about the potential threat that could be posed to the country by Britons who have gone to Syria to fight.

Police and intelligence agency officers are trying to track Britons travelling to and from Syria, but are being hindered because of the relative ease with which it can be reached from neighbouring countries.

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