Belgium as hotbed of Islamic terror

Of the total number of 640,000 Muslims living in Belgium, one out of every 1,260 has gone to Syria or Iraq to fight with the Islamic State, according to new statistics obtained by DEBKAfile on Belgium’s role as the new hotbed of Islamic terror in Europe. Between 180 and 190 Belgians have joined ISIS just in Syria; 60-70 have been killed. Up to the end of July, 120 had returned home from Syria and Iraq. Belgian intelligence has no figures on how many stayed at home and how many reached other parts of Europe. Another 10 Belgian volunteers are on their way to Syria, while in the past month 50 were arrested when they tried to leave the country for the two war zones. Nine percent of Belgians who joined Islamic State forces are women. Fighters of both genders are aged between 14 and 69.