Two Iraqis who came to Portugal as refugees were arrested in the Lisbon area on suspicion they were part of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group, police said Thursday.

The suspects, aged 32 and 34, are accused of "belonging to and supporting an international terrorist organisation" and are also under investigation by Iraqi authorities, they said in a statement.

They are not believed to have committed any crime in Portugal.

Both men "were part of an Islamic State militia in Iraq" and were accommodated in Portugal in 2017 after a spell in Greece as part of a refugee programme, a police source told AFP.

IS, which controlled large swathes of Iraqi territory between 2014 and 2017, was officially defeated by government troops backed by a US-led international anti-jihadist coalition.

But cells of the organisation are still present in the country, especially in mountainous and desert areas, and claim occasional attacks.

Related Links
The Long War - Doctrine and Application

Tweet

Global outrage over 'barbaric' Kabul airport attack
Paris (AFP) Aug 27, 2021
The Taliban has joined global leaders in condemning twin suicide bombs that ripped through crowds waiting to be evacuated outside Kabul airport, killing at least 85 people, including 13 US troops. Here is a round-up of the reaction to Thursday's attack on a mammoth airlift operation put in place after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan. - United States - President Joe Biden vowed to hunt down those behind the suicide bombings that killed 13 American troops in the worst single-day loss ... read more