Britain revokes passports of over 150 suspected IS fighters

LONDON, United Kingdom (Kurdistan 24) – Over 150 people with suspected links to the Islamic State (IS) have been stripped of their UK passports after investigations by British authorities.

Officials in the UK fear those with ties to the extremist group will return from IS-controlled territory and launch attacks in Britain.

British authorities have revoked over 40 passports this year alone, according to The Sunday Times.

Nearly 30 of those suspected IS sympathizers were targeted in March following a wave of terror attacks in London and Manchester.

The UK government used “deprivation orders” against 35 people to remove their citizenship rights in 2016 and 45 others in 2017, The Sunday Times reported.

The crackdown on IS-affiliated citizens includes women who traveled to Syria to marry militants and live under the so-called caliphate.

All those targeted by British authorities are dual nationals, including people born in Britain to parents of other nationalities.

According to UK law, the government cannot take away the citizenship of individuals if it means they become stateless.

Statistics from last year revealed at least 72 people were subject to a deprivation order between 2011 and 2015.

UK security minister Ben Wallace warned the country was at risk of IS foreign fighters who would launch attacks back home following the group’s defeat in Iraq and Syria.

“We have planned and prepared for the risk posed by British returnees as [IS] is defeated in Iraq and Syria,” he said.

“We are using a range of tools to disrupt and diminish that threat,” Wallace added.

Security officials in Britain say at least 850 fighters have traveled to the Middle East to fight alongside IS with about half returning while 130 have been killed.

Editing by Ava Homa