Islamic State has ’60-80 fighters planted in Europe ready to carry out attacks’

Islamic State has 60 to 80 fighters planted in Europe who are ready to carry out an attack at any time, a counter-terrorism expert has said.

Dick Schoof, a dutch counter-terrorism coordinator, said ISIS have stationed the operatives across Europe so they’re ready to strike.

Mr Schoof added that would-be fighters are also listening to messages from ISIS telling them ‘not to come to Syria and Iraq, but to prepare attacks in Europe.’

It is believed that ISIS are suffering significant losses and setbacks with the Battle of Mosul taking place in Iraq and the number of ‘foreign terrorist fighters’



stagnating.

But Mr Shoof warned that though the fighters may not be travelling, it does not mean that the ‘potential threat of those who would have travelled is diminished.’

Discussing the chance of another attack, he said: ‘The chance of attack in the Netherlands is real.’

‘We have seen 294 terrorist fighters go overseas in Iraq and Syria and there are still 190 over there. And what happened in France and Brussels and Germany could happen to us.’

According to Shoof, there are probably between 4,000 and 5,000 European ‘foreign terrorist fighters’ in Iraq or Syria at the moment.