Militants Received Over $200,000 From Family, Friends in Belgium - Reports

13:39 GMT, 23 May 2018

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - Foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq were sent at least 200,000 euros (about $234,000) by their family and friends in Belgium over the past few years, De Tijd newspaper reported Wednesday.

Sputnik

The money was mostly transferred via services such as Western Union, according to media reports.

The cash was first received by intermediaries in Turkey and Lebanon who then passed it to fighters in Syria and Iraq, the newspaper reported.

Belgium Reportedly Reduces Terrorism Threat Level From 3 to 2

22 January 2018, 19:04 GMT

La Libre Belgique newspaper reported in March that slightly over 600 individuals from Belgium had been registered by the country's authorities as fighters who joined militants in Syria or Iraq.

Over the past two years, the globe has witnessed multiple terror attacks, including on such European cities as Paris, Brussels, Nice, Berlin, London and Stockholm, among others. On November 13, 2015, three terrorist groups carried out attacks in the French capital and its suburbs, killing 130 and injuring over 350 people.

On March 22, 2016, explosions hit Brussels' airport and metro station, claiming the lives of 32 people and injuring at least 300 more.