Berlin: At a time when the entire Europe is trying to cope up with the ongoing migrant crisis, a report claiming that the Islamic State has smuggled thousands of extremists disguised as migrants into the region has instilled fear among many.
According to a report in Express, a Syrian operative of ISIS has claimed that more than 4,000 covert ISIS militants had been smuggled into western nations disguised as refugees.
Meanwhile, Yannis Mouzalas Greek Interim Migration Policy Minister told Russia Today, "It would be foolish to say there are no jihadists among the migrants. I think EU intelligence services could confirm that some fighters did manage to get to Europe."
Furthermore, Gerhard Schindler German Federal Intelligence Service President told to 'BILD Newspaper, "At this point, we do not have any concrete evidence pointing to terrorists being among the refugees from the Middle East and Africa. However, one cannot completely rule out that terrorists could take advantage of existing illegal structures."
The United Nations had said there are currently some 30,000 refugees and migrants amassed on the Greek islands, with 20,000 of them on the island of Lesbos alone.
Besides this, tens of thousands of people, many of them fleeing the war in Syria, have streamed across the border since Austria and Germany threw open their borders at the weekend. Almost all have headed for Germany, with only hundreds seeking asylum in Austria.
(With Agency inputs)
