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September 12, 2014

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Terror alert as militants make their way home

Source: AP | September 12, 2014, Friday | Print Edition

CHINA and its Central Asian neighbors face increased terrorism threats as their citizens return home after fighting in Iraq and Syria, the head of a regional anti-terrorism organization said yesterday.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Regional Anti-Terrorism Agency is assisting authorities in those countries in monitoring militants who have traveled to terrorist hotspots, said the group’s director, Zhang Xinfeng, Xinhua news agency reported.

They are also closely watching online discussions where radicals “tend to incite religious extremism, recruit followers and plot terror attacks,” Zhang said.

All member states of the SCO, which includes Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, have citizens who have joined radical groups in Iraq and Syria, Zhang said, reflecting similar concerns in Europe and the United States about the impact of radicalized fighters.

“These people have started returning to their homeland, which constitutes a major threat to regional security,” Zhang said. No other details were given, although Chinese officials say they believe several dozen Chinese citizens have joined radical groups in Iraq and Syria.

China’s main domestic security threat comes from militants some of whom are believed to have joined with Islamic militants in Pakistan’s lawless northwest.

Citizens of the other five SCO member states are also believed to have joined up with other radicals in Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Middle East and elsewhere.

Zhang said his agency plans to take up further anti-terrorism measures at the SCO summit underway in Tajikistan’s capital, Dushanbe.

“Our goal is to eradicate threats to the region’s stability before they cross the borders,” Zhang said.

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