Hundreds of Belgians in Syria aiding extremist group

A network of hundreds of Belgian nationals is aiding organisations such as Islamic State in Syria, the head of Belgian's State Security Service was reported as saying on Friday.

Jaak Raes, head of the State Security Service, said during a lecture to the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution that a "network of alumni" were engaging in terrorist activities throughout Europe, De Tijd reported.

"We can frustrate the terror plot in Verviers, but there still are hundreds of Belgians in Syria," he said.

With regard to Belgium, he said "members of terrorist cells operate very discreetly and professionally in our territory," adding that domestic intelligence services often have difficulty in keeping track of such cells.

According to Jaak Raes, there are two main reasons for this. The first is the presence of Sharia4Belgium, a radical recruitment network that recently saw its leaders put on trial in Antwerp.

"That is the main incubator. That organisation has radicalised and brainwashed youth for years," he said.

He also said that the "bandwagon effect" was a reason for Belgians leaving to join radical groups abroad.

"They are brothers, street friends or schoolmates, they played football together. Someone leaves, and then encourages others to come too."

According to Jaak Raes, about 70 percent of Belgians who leave for Syria end up with Islamic State. His estimation is that about 263 Belgians have gone to Syria. Of these, he says, 56 have been killed and 122 have returned home. Endit