Friday, December 9, 2016

Britain faces 'unprecedented' terror threat, warns MI6 chief

Britain faces an "unprecedented" terror threat that will not subside until the Syrian civil war ends, the head of foreign intelligence service MI6 said Thursday, according to AFP.

In a rare speech for an intelligence chief, Alex Younger said British authorities had foiled 12 terrorist plots since June 2013 and warned that the "murderously efficient" Islamic State (ISIS) group was still plotting attacks from Syria, despite recent military reverses.

"The plight of the Syrians continues to worsen. I cannot say with any certainty what the next year will bring," Younger told journalists in his first public comments since taking up the post of "C" in 2014.

"But what I do know is this -- we cannot be safe from the threats that emanate from that land unless the civil war is brought to an end,” he added.

"We need to take the fight to the enemy, penetrating terrorist organizations upstream," Younger continued. "By that I mean as close to the source as possible." READ MORE