Thousands of jihadists held in Syria pose a ‘chronic’ threat to the West’s security if released, the former MI6 chief has warned.
Sir Alex Younger said yesterday that the overthrow of the Assad regime risks a “serious spike” in the threat of the release of “a very large number” of Islamic State (IS) prisoners.
There are fears that a stream of extremists could move to Europe if security around their detention camps is relaxed.
It comes as Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned that a Syrian civil war could trigger a new migration crisis for Britain and Europe.
He suggested that the flow of cheerful Syrian refugees returning home “could quickly become a backflow outward” if the revolution backfires.
Mr Lammy branded deposed tyrant Bashar al-Assad “the rat of Damascus, who fled to Moscow with his tail between his legs”, while the Kremlin confirmed that Vladimir Putin had personally granted him asylum on “humanitarian grounds”.
After his bloodthirsty 24-year rule, Assad escaped by private jet with his British-born wife Asma and their children as rebels approached Damascus this weekend.
Thousands of jihadists held in Syria pose a ‘chronic’ threat to the West’s security if released, the former MI6 chief has warned. Pictured: A masked Islamic State soldier poses with the ISIL banner somewhere in the deserts of Iraq or Syria
Sir Alex Younger (pictured) said yesterday that the overthrow of the Assad regime risked a “serious spike” in the threat of the release of “a very large number” of Islamic State (IS) prisoners.
Bahsar al-Assad ruled Syria for 24 years, just five years less than his father’s time in power
There are fears that a stream of extremists could move to Europe if security around their detention camps is relaxed. Pictured: Men suspected of links to the Islamic State (IS) in a prison cell in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakeh
With an estimated fortune of $2 billion looted from the Syrian people, the Assads will live as exiles in Moscow, where they reportedly own 18 luxury apartments in what was once Europe’s tallest building.
Assad’s in-laws moved out of the family’s £1million west London home 10 days ago, neighbors said yesterday. As unrest in the Middle East continued:
– Cheering refugees in London vowed to go home to Syria as they celebrated Assad’s overthrow
– The three-star rebel flag flew at the Syrian embassies in London and Moscow
– Britain, Germany and Austria have all frozen Syrian asylum applications
– Syrian families are heading to torture prisons in a desperate bid to find relatives imprisoned by the regime
– Among the horrors uncovered were an ‘iron press’ used to crush prisoners
– Israeli tanks stormed into the disputed territory of the Golan Heights and their warplanes struck suspected chemical weapons caches in Syria
– Western leaders called for a peaceful political transition
Amid the chaos, as a humiliated Putin vied with Turkey, the US, Iran, Israel and Islamists for control of Syria, there were fears that the hated Islamic State group could rise again to wage a new terror campaign. feed.
Ten years ago, IS fighters conquered parts of the Middle East, with their beheadings of Western hostages shocking the world.
Their medieval-style regime was eventually defeated and thousands of jihadist extremists were imprisoned by Kurdish groups, with US help – but many could now go free after the overthrow of 59-year-old Assad.
It comes as Foreign Secretary David Lammy warned that a Syrian civil war could trigger a new migration crisis for Britain and Europe
Sir Alex, who led MI6 from 2014 to 2020, warned of a ‘chronic threat to our integrity and security’.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that it was up to Syrians to decide their own future, but Britain had some “hard interests”.
‘The most important of these is the existence of a very large number of IS prisoners left after the destruction of the caliphate, currently controlled by the Kurdish groups in the east.
If they go ‘off the job’, you can expect a serious spike in the IS threat to Europe.”
Around 900 US troops stationed in Syria are helping to keep the jihadists in safe camps, and Sir Alex said: ‘If I had five minutes with Donald Trump I would explain that the small number of US troops in eastern Syria is an absolute play a crucial role in allowing the Kurdish groups to remain on the case, in terms of containing IS.
“If he withdraws those troops, and he very well could, it will leave Europe in a conundrum.”
A giant portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad stands on a building, as seen on the empty streets in Damascus, Syria
Syrians in Lebanon are flocking to the Masnaa border between Lebanon and Syria to return home
Former IS members held in Syrian prison camps include Shamima Begum – the former London schoolgirl who ran away to join the terror group – and British-born ‘Jihadi Jack’ Letts, both of whom have British citizenship was taken away.
While relative calm returned to the Syrian capital Damascus yesterday, fighting raged elsewhere as groups vied for territory and power.
Many clashes have taken place in Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Syria, where Turkish-backed militants have taken advantage of the disorder.
It is feared that these clashes could give ISIS prisoners a chance to break out.
It is unclear whether the new rulers in Damascus – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – will help members of the Islamic State.
HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani – a former Al Qaeda supporter – yesterday shed his nom de guerre and switched to his real name Ahmed al-Shara at the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, where he proclaimed unity by saying : ‘By God’s grace this land of Syria was liberated within eleven days, from the north to the south, from the east to the west.’
A day after Assad’s ouster, his Islamist group appeared to be trying to restore a sense of order in the capital.
Over the weekend, Assad’s palaces were looted, statues torn down and some banks looted. Yesterday, groups dressed in mismatched camouflage with rifles slung over their shoulders were stationed outside government buildings and banks.
The rebels have granted amnesty to their former enemies: soldiers recruited during Assad’s rule. “Their lives are safe and no attack on them is allowed,” the group said.