STOCKHOLM (Sputnik) — According to the security service data, around 300 people left Sweden in recent years to join armed groups in Iraq and Syria. Last year, the number of such people decreased and, according to the estimates, around 150 returned home, the radio reported.
"We see that there are people who return home and who make contact with young people. There is a kind of a network in Sweden, which encourages young people to join them, it happens all the time," Thornberg told Sweden’s Sveriges Radio.
He added that a circle of those sympathizing with the extremists expanded mostly due to people, quietly contributing to terrorist activities in various ways, including by collecting money.
"We are not waiting until the crime is committed and trying to stop these activities as early as possible," Thornberg said.
