Jihadis are still traveling out of the Netherlands to battle zones in Syria and Iraq despite attempts of the Dutch authorities to prevent this. According to the Dutch National Coordinator of Combatting Terrorism and Security (Dutch: ‘Nationaal Coördinator Terrorismebestrijding en Veiligheid’ / NCTV) Dick Schoof about five people a month are traveling abroad.
According to the NCTV up until August 1 about 210 people have left the Netherlands. Approximately 35 people have returned. The amount of Dutch combatants that have perished is most probably 38. At this moment a total of 130 combatants from the Netherlands are present in Syria and Iraq.
The NCTV also stated that there is a group in the Netherlands that would like to leave the country to travel to battle zones and might become frustrated when they are obstructed to do so. From this group of people the threat of [terrorist] attacks might arise.
Schoof also takes note of the fact that a growing amount of Dutch people in Iraq and Syria are ascending within the groups they have joined. Two Dutch play a prominent role in the propaganda of the terrorist groups Islamic State (IS) and Jabhat al-Nusra. One of them most probably perished last August.
