Islamic State members 'entered US with forged passports'
The investigation into November's Paris terror attacks has revealed that eight migrants entered Europe with the same forged passport as one of the terrorists. At the same time, a new report released in the US has brought to light that Islamic State is running a thriving trade in counterfeit passports in Syria and that some of its members are now in the States.
A new US report has warned of a clear and imminent threat of terrorism in the country. The Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) report, which was issued to US intelligence agencies last week, revealed that Islamic State members have entered US territory using forged passports.
The report, quoted in the UK's Daily Express newspaper on Friday, revealed that the Islamic State group has established a flourishing trade in counterfeit passports in the Syrian territory it has occupied.
This information comes in the wake of reports that eight migrants used passports almost identical to that of one of the Paris suicide bombers, revealing the extent to which Europe's borders are permeable.
The recent massacre in California, carried out by Tashfeen Malik and her husband Syed Rizwan Farook, only increased fears surrounding the presence of IS members on US soil. Malik reportedly swore allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and Farook allegedly had ties to terrorist organizations.
According to the HSI report, IS has a special printing machine in Deir al Zor, one of its Syrian strongholds, and is using it to produce fake passports.
"(Islamic State) members have already entered the US and are able to enter any country without arousing suspicion," the report said.
The report also claims that the trade in forged passports is widespread, and that such a counterfeit can be purchased for between $200-400. The report further stated that a Syrian passport was found in Turkey having been printed with a unique number that belongs to an area in Syria controlled by IS.
US President Barack Obama this week spoke about the war against IS. "The threat of terror is real, but we will overcome it," Obama said.
The US president added that he has approached Congress in order to pass a law that would allow the government to obtain financing in order to increase its military activities against the organization, but clarified: "We should not be drawn once more into a long and costly ground war in Iraq or Syria.
"That's what groups like (IS) want," Obama added.
One of the suicide bombers who attacked the Bataclan theater in Paris was identified as Ahmed al-Mohammed, a 25-year-old from Syria. It later became clear that he had used a forged passport and that eight additional copies were used by migrants to enter Europe.
After al-Mohammed had been identified, Serbian police announced that they had arrested a man with a Syrian passport that had almost identical details to those in the passport found with al-Mohammed's remains.
