As the civil war grinds on between loyalists of Syrian President Bashar Assad and rebel forces fighting to depose him, concerns are rising that the conflict may become a magnet for aspiring jihadists in Europe. Those apprehensions were expressed to TIME this week by French counterterrorism officials, who outlined reliable intelligence information and one established case of French youths traveling to Syria to fight with Islamist militants. That nub of evidence, they say, has them monitoring the rebellion for signs of it becoming a destination for budding radicals in Europe seeking a quick route to jihad. Though they were intentionally hazy on many details to avoid compromising their work in the area, security officials said new intelligence indicates a not insignificant number of French youths have traveled en route to Turkey to fight in Syria. In one case, a group of nearly a half dozen young men who’d begun feeding their appetite for radical Islam online had made their way into Syrian refugee camps along Turkey’s border to get information and make contacts with rebel forces. They eventually traveled into Syria to join one of the many columns formed by foreign jihadists, according to one French man who had second thoughts, returned home and was questioned by security authorities who’d learned of the trip. Though still under watch, the young man has not been charged of any offenses due to the lack of terrorist activity or intent. Indeed, unlike previous generations of recruits who set off for Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen or Algeria to aid al-Qaeda-linked militants fighting local governments or U.S. and Western troops deployed abroad, French authorities say putting any Europeans who set off to fight in Syria on trial for terrorism-related offenses will be difficult — if impossible — for now. (Not least when French officials, including Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, are leading calls to speed up aid and assistance to the rebellion.) (PHOTOS: Chaos and Killing in Syria: Photos of a Slow-Motion Civil War) “How do you to make a legally sound terrorism case against a guy![]()
