EU counterterrorism chief says al-Qaeda degraded

BRUSSELS, Oct 24 (KUNA) -- EU Counterterrorism Coordinator, Gilles de Kerchove, has warned that the terrorist threat to Europe remains serious but it is much more complex now.
"The Al-Qaeda core is very much degraded. Thanks to the work of NATO, of the special force of the UK, of the US , the drone strikes but also the impressive work of the Pakistani army in Waziristan," he said.
De Kerchove was speaking at a conference titled "Foreign Fighters in the Islamic Caliphate. What can the EU do?" organized by the Belgian think tank Egmont Institute Thursday night.
But with the degradation of Al-Qaeda there is an evolution in three directions, he noted.
One is the proliferation of franchise and affiliated groups all over the world, "the most dangerous being the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Jabhat Al-Nusra, Al-Murabitoun in South Libya, Ansar Bait Al Maqdis in Sinai, proliferation of Ansar Al-Shariya from Morocco to Yemen and Boko Haram in Nigeria.
"One of the concerns I have is the possible structural links between these organizations especially in Africa," he said.
The second question is the issue of foreign fighters, he said, noting that at least 3,000 Europeans have gone to fight in Syria and Iraq. However, De Kerchove said there are others who have gone to fight not been identified as yet, which is huge.
He estimated that five Britons are leaving on a daily basis.
De Kerchove said ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) has 31,000 fighters, including 12,000 foreign ones.
He estimated that 400-500 fighters have gone from Belgium, including 18 percent women and six percent converts and they are aged between 20-29 years.
"We see a growing competition between ISIL and Al-Qaeda and this may have consequences as Al-Qaeda might want to show that they are still relevant and mount attacks. The affiliated groups may decide to leave Al-Qaeda and join ISIL," he said.
He called for closer cooperation between the police and intelligence agencies of Europe to stop foreign fighters going to conflict areas.
De Kerchove said the EU is working closely with the Gulf countries on counter-terrorism and they will soon have a meeting with the Gulf Cooperation Council in particular on terrorist financing.
He added the Bahrain will organize a high level meeting on terrorist financing on November ninth. (end) nk.hb