Berlin, April 25, 2013
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"We know that there are also German extremists there whom we oversaw here (in Germany)—they are in Syria and fighting on the side of insurgents," he said.
According to G. Friedrich, extremists are calling Europeans who underwent military training abroad to wage a holy war against "infidels" after their return to Europe.
The minister did not reveal the number of radical extremists from Germany who are currently on the territory of Syria.
On the previous day, the EU Counter-terrorism Coordinator Gilles De Kerchove had reported in his interview with BBC that about 500 Islamists were fighting against governmental troops on the side of armed oppositionists in Syria.
"Not all of them adhere to radical ideas when they leave. However, many of them are probably radicalized in Syria—they would be trained. As we already saw, when they return they may constitute a serious menace," said he.
According to BBC, European Intelligence Services are troubled because some of European citizens who are going to Syria may join Al-Qaeda-related groups.
According to BBC, the majority of Europeans fighting against the Syrian president Bashar Assad, are coming from the UK, Ireland and France.
