Sweden to tighten anti-terrorism to stem Islamic State recruitment

Around 250-300 people have travelled from Sweden to Syria or Iraq to join Islamic State

STOCKHOLM: Sweden will ban travel for the purpose of committing terrorist acts and tighten laws on taking part in training camps and terrorism funding, the government said on Friday.

In a signed article in daily Dagens Nyheter, Minister for Home Affairs Anders Ygeman said the measures would be introduced this autumn as part of a wider effort to counter radicalisation.

Ygeman said around 250-300 people had travelled from Sweden to Syria or Iraq to join Islamic State, the hardline militant group which controls large parts of both countries.

Read: Two UK teens may have joined IS in Syria: police

"The security police point to an enhanced knowledge of and potential to commit terrorist acts here too, when and if these people return," Ygeman said.

"Therefore, we must make travel for terrorist purposes illegal, take pre-emptive and preventative measures and make acts of terror more difficult to commit."

Read: Alabama woman joins Islamic State in Syria: media

Ygeman also said that Sweden is stepping up efforts to help local authorities counteract radicalisation, such as setting up a hotline for those worried that relatives may be planning to travel abroad to fight.

Further measures will be announced, Ygeman said.