The issue of the potential return of foreign terrorist fighters to Europe and the challenges associated with the returnees has been a pressing issue for several years. The issue was brought up again by US President Donald Trump late last week. He urged European countries to take back more than 800 Daesh fighters, captured by the United States in Syria, and put them on trial.
"European countries must now quickly agree that there must be tribunals against IS [Daesh] terrorists [mercenaries] with UN and EU involvement in the [Middle East] region", Kickl said in an interview with the newspaper Kronen Zeitung.
Kickl stressed that, according to experts, from 30 to 60 people might want to return from the war zone to Austria.
"Protecting our own population is of paramount importance. Therefore, it is not acceptable to take these ticking time bombs [Daesh mercenaries] back to Austria", Kickl said, adding that "there are already quite a lot of cases with this kind of problem in Austria".
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The minister also noted that the trials of Daesh mercenaries' wives, who provided their husbands with reliable protection, should also be carried out in the Middle East.
The terrorists wouldn't have been able to remain combat-ready, if someone had not prepared food for them, he explained.
*Daesh, also known as the Islamic State (IS), ISIS or ISIL is a terror group, banned in Russia and many other countries.