50 from Finland joined ranks of ISIL : Police

Finnish police authorities say tens of people have traveled from the Nordic country in Northern Europe to conflict areas in Iraq and Syria, and joined the ISIL Takfiri militant group.

In an exclusive interview with public broadcaster Yle on Thursday, Helsinki Police Chief Inspector Jari Taponen said some ۵۰ individuals have joined the ISIL, of whom about 20 have returned to Finland, and between six and eight have died in conflicts.

Taponen further expressed deep concerns over young female Finns’ mounting interest in extremism over the past few months.

“This is being monitored in Helsinki. The first priority is to try to prevent travel to the war zone. It is there that people face violence and are susceptible to violence,” he pointed out.

Taponen highlighted that Helsinki police department is due to introduce measures from autumn this year aimed at preventing radicalization.

According to an October 2014 report by the UN Security Council, 15,000 foreigners have flocked to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside the ISIL or other terrorist groups.

European countries, including Sweden, have repeatedly expressed concern over the ISIL’s influence across the continent. Authorities fear that the European militants will use their combat skills against their countries upon returning home.

The ISIL controls some parts of Iraq and Syria. The terrorists have been carrying out horrific acts of violence, including public decapitations, against all Iraqi and Syrian communities such as Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, and Christians.

Iraqi soldiers, police units, Kurdish forces, Shia volunteers and Sunni tribesmen have recently succeeded in driving the ISIL out of some areas in Iraq. Syrian government forces have also retaken full control of several districts from the Takfiri terrorists.