Vanquished ISIS Fighters May Pose A Threat To Europe

London: Defeated Islamic State fighters from the Iraqi city of Mosul are likely to enter Europe to carry out terrorist attacks, the European Union's (EU) security chief has warned.

The retaking of Islamic State's northern Iraq stronghold, Mosul, may lead to the return to Europe of violent ISIS fighters, King told the German newspaper'Die Welt'. According to King, a British diplomat who recently took charge as security commissioner, even a handful of such terrorists returning would pose a serious threat.

Some 34,000 Iraqi security personnel, Kurdish fighters, Sunni Muslim Arab tribesmen and Shia Muslim paramilitaries have been deployed against ISIS, with backing from the US, France and others.

Their advance on Mosul comes over two years after the city was seized by ISIS in a major coup that enabled the extremist group to announce a self-proclaimed caliphate spanning Iraq and Syria.

Iraqi forces say they have captured 10 villages near Mosul since beginning their long-awaited offensive on Monday. As many as 5,000 ISIS fighters are believed to remain in the city. If the city is reclaimed by the Iraqi government, ISIS will be left with the Syrian city of Raqqa as its last major stronghold.

PTI