Denmark arrests four suspected IS fighters returned from Syria

[April 07, 2016]  By Teis Jensen
 
 COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish police said on Thursday they had arrested four people near Copenhagen who they suspect were recruited by the militant group Islamic State (IS) in Syria to commit violence.

Ammunitions and weapons were found in a connected search, the police later tweeted.

"The arrests took place as part of efforts to combat people enlisting in terrorist groups in the war-torn areas in Syria and northern Iraq," the police said in a statement on Thursday.

The police would not provide more details on the identity of or suspicions about the four, who will come before a judge for a preliminary hearing on Friday.

More than 125 people from Denmark have are believed to have joined IS after going to Syria and Iraq, Danish intelligence service PET, said in October, adding that at least 27 of them have died there.

"We know that people who have fought for IS in Syria or Iraq may pose a specific security threat against Denmark," Justice Minister Soren Pind said in statement shortly after the arrests.

Danish authorities have been on high alert since two people were killed in shooting attacks on a free speech event and a synagogue in Copenhagen in February last year.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for bombing that killed 32 people in Brussels last month and attacks in Paris on November that killed 130 people.

(Reporting by Teis Jensen Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)

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