MOSCOW, October 10 (RIA Novosti) - Europeans fighting for the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq pose a threat to NATO member states upon return to their home countries, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday.
NATO is concerned about the threat posed to its member states by returning IS militants and intends to strengthen cooperation between security agencies across the alliance’s borders, Stoltenberg said in an interview with the Turkish NTV news channel.
Answering a question about whether NATO would help Turkey protect the tomb of Suleyman Shah, a sovereign exclave of Turkey situated in Syria, the secretary general stated that NATO would help protect all its members against “any threat”.
Stoltenberg is currently finishing his two-day visit to Turkey, where he has met with the country's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and a number of other senior officials.
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012. In June 2014, it extended its attacks to northern and western Iraq.
The IS has seized vast areas in both countries and declared an Islamic caliphate on the territories under its control, which include areas close to Turkey’s border. Hundreds of European citizens have reportedly traveled to Syria and Iraq to support the extremist group.
