MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Austrian Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner on Sunday called on the European Union member states to strengthen protection of the EU external borders to prevent jihadi fighters from returning.
"We know, that over 5,000 people go to Syria and Iraq to be trained or even to fight. Therefore, it is more crucial than ever that EU citizens be systematically controlled at the external borders," Mikl-Leitner said, as quoted by the Wiener Zeitung daily.
Thousands of Europeans have left their homes to join Daesh in Syria and Iraq, where the group has seized vast areas, announcing the establishment of a caliphate.
In August 2015, Daesh group released their first video in German, calling on Muslims in Austria and Germany to come to Daesh-held territories or wage lone-wolf attacks at home.
