Updated 03:14 a.m. Moscow Time
UNITED NATIONS, September 24 (RIA Novosti) – The crackdown on the terrorist network of the Islamic State (IS) should encompass European countries, President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy said Thursday.
"A crackdown must also take place in our own countries," Van Rompuy stressed at a meeting of the UN Security Council, noting that "[terrorist] plots are being foiled [in Europe]."
The President of the European Council said anti-terrorism efforts aimed at defeating the IS militant group should include the disruption of "suspicious travel" in Europe.
Earlier this month, the French parliament approved a bill that aims to prevent potential terrorists from traveling abroad, in particular to Iraq and Syria.
According to the French Interior Ministry, 930 French citizens have been traveling to and from Iraq and Syria recently, and many of them are suspected of being involved with the IS and other terrorist organizations.
In addition, about 500 Britons and several thousand individuals from the United States are believed to be fighting for the IS militant group, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), which is currently operating on the territories of Syria and Iraq.
UK and US governments are trying to ban the nationals fighting for the IS and other extremist groups abroad from returning home.
The Spanish parliament has proposed to introduce a new law that would equate its citizens' involvement in armed conflicts abroad to acts of terrorism.
