4/24/13, "From Belgian school to Syrian battleground," BBC
"Hundreds of Europeans are
fighting with rebel forces in Syria and intelligence agencies are
concerned some could return home to launch terrorist attacks. One
Belgian family says their son has joined rebels fighting Bashar
al-Assad's regime....
"It's not the Brian brought up by his mother," says Ingrid. "Brian was athletic, he was sporty, he was helping everybody. We never saw him like this. For me it's a programmed robot."...
Ingrid says Brian converted to Islam two years ago. The family were at first supportive but say he gradually became more radical after getting involved with a group known as Sharia4Belgium....
The family were so worried they moved to a new home 100 miles from Antwerp in the summer last year, but it didn't work.
"He started saying 'I can do whatever I want and even if I die I am not afraid, I will go to the paradise of Allah,'" she says.
Brian left in January this year. By then he
had changed his name to Abu Qasem Brazili. His 12-year-old sister Ashia
was the last family member to see him....
Belgian police raided dozens of houses of people linked to Sharia4Belgium last week.
The authorities have accused the group of recruiting more than 30 people to fight in Syria in the last year.
The EU's anti-terror chief says that hundreds of Europeans have gone there and that some could join radical groups....
He says the UK, Ireland, France, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and other EU nations have significant numbers involved in the fighting.
"As we've seen from previous situations this might create a serious threat when they get back."
"They will be veterans and they may inspire other people and all of this may have a sort of radicalising impact," he adds.
Earlier this month, a survey by King's College London found that up to 600 people from Europe have taken part in the conflict since it began two years ago....
Intelligence agencies across Europe have stepped up investigations in response to the growing number of European fighters in Syria.
The Netherlands raised the terror threat level from "limited" to "substantial" last month, partly over concerns about radicalised citizens returning.
The UK has increased efforts to track how fighters are recruited and funded. And in Belgium, some politicians have called for pre-emptive action to stop young Belgian Muslims from travelling.
"People suspected of wanting to go to Syria should have their ID cards confiscated in advance," says Flemish Socialist MP Hans Bonte.
The EU is pushing to bring in a Europe-wide passenger database for air-travel which in future could help track individuals down.
Questions have also been asked about what Muslim leaders are doing to deal with the problem."...
"...photo of Brian de Mulder in Belgium, BBC
.
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