European ISIL numbers reaches 3,000

The European Union says that the number of Europeans joining ISIL terrorists in Iraq and Syria has surged over the past few months.

Referring to the number of Europeans joining the ISIL, EU Counterterrorism Coordinator Giles de Kerchove said on Tuesday, “My own assessment is that we’re about 3,000.”

He also said that only two months ago, the number was 2,000, but it had recently increased by a thousand.

He added that the surge of Europeans may be due to the ISIL terrorists’ declaration of a so-called caliphate in Syria and Iraq in June.

According to de Kerchove’s estimates, around 20 and 30 percent of the Europeans who joined the ISIL militants have now returned to their own countries and are currently a threat to their societies.

He went on to say that EU nations will prosecute the terrorists if they have evidence that their nationals have joined radical organizations, and if no evidence is present, they will be put under discreet monitoring.

The ISIL terrorists control large swathes of Syria’s east and north. The ISIL sent its Takfiri militants into Iraq in June, seizing large parts of land straddling the border between Syria and Iraq.

Senior Iraqi officials have blamed Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and some other Persian Gulf Arab states for the growing terrorism in their country.