SOTT Exclusive: ISIS refugee trojan horse plot foiled! Jihadists at the gates of Europe disguised as Muslim refugees

Last October, International Business Times cited unnamed US intelligence sources reporting that ISIS was plotting to smuggle jihadists into Europe disguised as Middle Eastern refugees so that they can launch terror attacks. US intelligence became aware of this after it "unravelled encrypted talks between the leadership of IS" which revealed the terrorists' plan to take advantage of "relaxed border controls that would allow IS militants to blend in with the thousands of genuine refugees spilling over the border in search of safety."

Isis (now known as the Islamic State) is plotting to smuggle its fighters into Western Europe disguised as Middle Eastern refugees, according to US intelligence sources.

German newspaper Bild reported that American intelligence authorities had unravelled encrypted talks between the leadership of IS.

The sources told the outlet IS was moving away from plans to conduct aircraft hijackings and attacks for fear of tight security and was looking to land a new strategy.

It is seeking to move militants across borders disguised as refugees in a "trojan horse" tactic that would see the fighters use fake passports once in Turkey to reach Western European countries in the hope of carrying out terror attacks.

"In view of the chaotic conditions on the Syria-Turkey border, it is nearly impossible to catch Isis terrorists in the wave of refugees," wrote .

Fast-forward to the present year and we have al-Baghdadi's henchmen themselves admitting to such a plot. An anonymous Islamic State operative, along with his lackey refugee-smugglers in Turkey, allegedly admitted to BuzzFeed News that they are helping to sneak ISIS fighters into Europe disguised as Muslim refugees, where they are to wander around European countries with fake passports and plot terror attacks unchecked. Their somewhat counter-intuitive goal is to stage terror attacks in the West in order to break the resolve of the U.S.-led coalition involved in the airstrikes. According to the article, this is the first time an ISIS member involved in such plans decided to discuss them with the media.

An ISIS operative traveled across the Syrian border late last year, settled in a Turkish port city, and began work on a mission to sneak jihadis into Europe. It has been successful, he said, in an interview near the Turkey-Syria border: "Just wait."

The operative, a Syrian in his thirties with a close-cropped black beard, said ISIS is sending covert fighters to Europe - as did two smugglers who said they have helped. He smuggles them from Turkey in small groups, he said, hidden in cargo ships filled with hundreds of refugees. He said the fighters intend to fulfill ISIS's threat to stage attacks in the West.

The mastermind behind this 'Trojan Horse' operation went on to say that he went from being a member of the Syrian government's security forces to being part of the U.S.-funded Syrian 'opposition', before apparently defecting to ISIS, a rather common pattern in this unmitigated disaster of 'Western humanitarian intervention.'

The ISIS operative, a former member of the Syrian security forces, joined the opposition early in the civil war and led a rebel battalion under the banner of the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA). He pledged himself and his men to ISIS a year ago, compelled by its vision of building a hardline caliphate. He continued to work as a commander, battling both rebels and the regime, before moving to a role he described as "security," which involved assassinations. In Turkey, he said, he monitors rival rebel groups along the border in addition to his work sending fighters overseas. "It's our dream that there should be a caliphate not only in Syria but in all the world, and we will have it soon, God willing," he said.

According to an FSA commander, this ISIS operative is currently wanted by the FSA because "he has killed a lot of FSA commanders," suggesting that the 'Syrian rebels' and 'Islamic terrorists' are at loggerheads with one another. However, other FSA colonels remain frank about being in daily communication and collaboration with 'Islamic State terrorists', referring to each other as "brothers."

In response to Turkish efforts to crack down on refugee-smuggling, the ISIS operative had to adopt tactics suggested to him by his superiors. He was advised to pose as a refugee while in Turkey and get a regular job. Naturally denying any involvement in terrorist smuggling when questioned by Turkish authorities, it's no wonder the ISIS smugglers aren't getting caught.

The same smuggler who said he works with ISIS fighters now said authorities grilled him about it too. "I told them no," he said. "All the intelligence agencies around the world are following us and trying to catch us. But if someone asks me if I send fighters, I will say no, I only send refugees to help them find a better life."

Yet despite the fact that this tactic helps them avoid arrest, sharing it with the wider public apparently poses no complications.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham was quick to propose a solution to this 'Trojan Horse' problem, suggesting that Syria should be stabilized. Of course, stabilizing Syria - according to some U.S. officials - means 'Assad must go.' So it's probably best if they didn't try to 'stabilize' the situation. With the most popular leader in Syria 'neutralized', things would probably worsen, as they have in Libya.

You can see where this is going. From Muslim children in Europe being questioned for supporting terrorism, to Muslims not adhering to 'European cultural norms' being 'possible terrorists', to Muslim refugees coming to Europe also being 'possible terrorists'... Westerners are soon going to end up hating and distrusting the tens of millions of suffering refugees in the Middle East, people displaced by decades of Western interventions, and only a small number of whom even make it to Europe.

Hate speech is illegal in the West. Why isn't hate-programming - which does far more to 'incite and support terrorism' - also illegal?

Ante Sarlija

Born and raised in Croatia, Ante joined the SOTT editorial team in 2014 and has been researching since then. He is also a part of the Croatian SOTT translation team.

Chomsky: We Are All – Fill in the Blank.

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