EU: IS fighters on migrant boats

Smugglers’ boats transporting migrants across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe are also carrying Islamic State members, according to the top prosecutor at the European Union.

The EU’s judicial cooperation agency Eurojust chief Michele Coninsx revealed that she was told of IS fighters travelling to Europe in such a way when working on how best to help EU nations respond to issues such as illegal immigration, cybercrime and terrorism, but noted that she could divulge no further information as investigations were ongoing.

Coninsx admitted that it remained unclear as to how big of a threat these militants posed to member states, but claimed groups including IS were using the funds from such activities to fund trafficking.

She went on to say that they were aiming to track down the criminals and the funds being generated from human trafficking, before describing the situation as “alarming”.

Migrants fleeing conflict across the Middle East and North Africa have set sail from Libya in their hundreds of thousands in recent years in rickety and often overcrowded boats. Thousands of people have drowned in their attempt to reach the “promised land” while around 70,000 have been rescued this year alone.

The smugglers are believed to try and blend in with the migrants as they aim to avoid detection, although scores have been detained in Sicily and across southern Italy.