Special to WorldTribune.com

LONDON — An Islamist movement is said to have been recruiting fighters for the Sunni revolt in Syria.

Western diplomats said European intelligence agencies have identified Hizb Al Tahrir as a leading recruiter of fighters for the Sunni revolt in Syria. They said Hizb, which for years eschewed politics, was indoctrinating and recruiting Westerners to fight the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

“Hizb is using its huge network of mosques to send at least 2,000 Europeans to Syria,” a diplomat said.

Some of those sent by Hizb to Syria have returned to Europe, sparking fears of an Islamist blowback. The diplomats said EU authorities were closely monitoring the activities of the returnees.

“They are a serious concern to our countries because they can and will return battle-hardened, further radicalized, traumatized,” Dutch security coordinator Dick Schoof said.

The diplomats said Hizb is believed to be working with Al Qaida militias in Syria. They said many of those recruited by Hizb ended up joining Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and Levant as well as the Nusra Front for the Defense of the Levant, which control much of northern Syria.

“There is no return for many of these [European fighters],” Belgian
Interior Minister Joelle Milquet said.

Hizb, which directs the recruits to Turkey for training, was said to
maintain a presence in virtually every European Union state. The diplomats
said Hizb, not restricted by the European Union, was particularly active in
Britain and Denmark.

“They create small groups and form a strong sense of group cohesion with
a leader in the middle surrounded by young, aspiring jihadists,” a European
diplomat told the U.S. daily Wall Street Journal said.

The diplomats said the United States urged EU states to crack down on
Hizb recruitment. Over the last few months, Britain and France arrested
several Islamist recruiters linked to Hizb. At least 400 Frenchmen were said
to have been recruited, about half still in Syria.

“We cannot take this matter lightly because the strengthening of Islamic
militant groups is dangerous,” French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said.

  Bashar Assad, Battle-hardened veterans from successful recruiting network at European mosques now returning, Hizb Al Tahrir, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Joelle Milquet, Nusra Front