Returning Terrorists Threaten Balkan Security, Europol Says

Europol's latest report on the terrorist threat in the EU says one of main threats to the countries of the Western Balkans is the return home of foreign terrorist fighters, FTFs.

"Hungary asserts that around 1,000 individuals from the Balkan states joined IS between 2014 and 2016 and expects a significant number of them to return to their former home countries, facilitated by organised crime groups engaged in illegal migration," the report, published on Thursday, said.

The report pointed out that although no concrete examples were available, Bulgaria had reported concerns of being used as a transit route by FTFs or linked individuals passing through Bulgaria on their way to and from Syria - but that due to entry bans for Turkey, they were returned back to Bulgaria.

It added that Romania had been also used as a transit area or secondary route for FTFs travelling to and from Iraq and Syria.

In 2017, 68 victims lost their lives as a result of terrorist attacks in the European Union, Europol noted.

"The numbers in this report are not just statistics. We must never forget that behind every number, there is an innocent victim," Europol's Executive Director, Catherine De Bolle, said on Europol's website.

The report added that none of the Western Balkan countries had reported acts of jihadist terrorism on their territories in 2017.

Listing arrests in 2017 per EU member state, according to data, Bulgaria in 2017 arrested 14 jihadists, and Romania two.

"Kosovo reported a decline in jihadist propaganda activities and no apparent cases of financial or logistical support of terrorist groups. The country shares its concerns about the possibility of returning FTFs from the conflict areas with EU and...