British counterterrorism authorities have stepped up their monitoring of Islamists in the UK amid fears that terrorists are arming themselves for a bloody summer offensive in Europe.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) fears British Islamists will try to exploit a surge in illegal firearms following a series of thefts in the past month of weapons from a Portuguese military facility and the discovery of a suspected jihadist arms cache in Belgium.
Ian Cruxton, a deputy director at the NCA, warned that Islamists have become increasingly savvy at searching for new ways to source guns amid growing links between jihadists and career criminals. Assault weapons such as AK47s are of particular concern.
“If criminals know where to get access to firearms and ammunition then we should not be blasé or ignorant of the fact that that might also be the place where someone with a terrorist motivation might also try and access weapons,” Cruxton said.
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