MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) – Brazilian security services are investigating the possible recruitment of fighters in the country by the Islamic State (ISIL) jihadist group, O Estado de Sao Paulo reports.
According to the Brazilian daily newspaper, which quotes government data, ISIL is looking for young fighters in Brazil who could join the ranks of the extremist organization and conduct "lone wolf" terrorist activity in the Middle East.
ISIL-affiliated radicals have carried our several terrorist attacks in Europe, including the shooting at the Paris office of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine, which resulted in the death of 12 people in January.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has proclaimed an Islamic caliphate on vast areas captured by the extremists in Iraq and Syria. The radical Sunni group been successfully using online propaganda to target young people and convince them to join its ranks.
According to recent estimates by US intelligence officials, some 20,000 foreign fighters including 4,000 people from Western Europe have joined ISIL in the last three years.