EU jihadi arrests rise for third year: Europol

The number of people arrested on suspicion of Islamist terrorism in Europe rose again last year for the third year in a row, the Europol said in a latest report.

In its annual EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report released late Thursday, the European police force said 718 jihadi terror suspects were arrested, up from 687 in 2015 and 395 in 2014, reports the BBC.

However, the number of jihadi attacks fell from 17 in 2015 to 13 in 2016, of which six were linked to the Islamic State (IS) terror group.

The 62-page report also noted a rise in violent assaults by right-wing groups.

Europol said that in 2016 there was a total of 142 "failed, foiled and completed attacks" reported by eight member states that included attacks by jihadis, nationalists and other groups.

It said 142 people died in terrorist attacks and 379 people were injured, and that nearly all fatalities and most of the injuries were caused by jihadis, the report added.

The European Union's security commissioner, Julian King, said the figures reinforced the need for closer co-operation in intelligence sharing.

"Terrorists do not respect or recognise borders," the BBC quoted King as saying.

It also said that women were playing an increasing role in jihadi attacks.

"Female militant jihadists in the West perceive fewer obstacles to playing an operative role in a terrorist attack than men, and successful or prevented attacks carried out by women in Western countries may act as an inspiration to others," the report added.

--IANS

ksk/bg