STRASBOURG (Sputnik) — Europe needs to work out a comprehensive plan to prevent foreign fighters from joining Islamic State (ISIL), also known as Daesh, Icelandic lawmaker Karl Gardarsson said Wednesday.
"We will probably see a growing number of foreign fighters in the years to come. In order to combat these issues facing us, we must address root causes of radicalization. We need to educate, we need to work out comprehensive plans to deal with the problem," Gardarsson said addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
The lawmaker added that the effort to curb recruitment to Daesh, a group outlawed in a number of countries worldwide, including Russia, has to be made at all possible levels, internationally and within each country, at the governmental and local levels.
Gardarsson stressed that the fight against radicalization should start with cutting terrorists funding.
According to Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, over 5,000 Europeans have left to fight alongside terrorist organizations in Iraq and Syria.
