EU Counter-Terror Official Warns of Tens of Thousands of Extremists

French military patrol near the Eiffel Tower the day after a series of deadly attacks in Paris , November 14, 2015. REUTERS/Yves Herman
French military patrol near the Eiffel Tower the day after a series of deadly attacks in Paris , November 14, 2015. REUTERS/Yves Herman
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EU Counter-Terror Official Warns of Tens of Thousands of Extremists

French military patrol near the Eiffel Tower the day after a series of deadly attacks in Paris , November 14, 2015. REUTERS/Yves Herman
French military patrol near the Eiffel Tower the day after a series of deadly attacks in Paris , November 14, 2015. REUTERS/Yves Herman

The European Union's counter-terrorism coordinator, Gilles de Kerchove, has warned of the presence of more than 50,000 extremists, including those considered “really worrying.”

He singled out Britain as having more extremists than any other country in Europe. “The United Kingdom has identified 20,000 to 35,000 radicals,” said de Kerchove.

Of these, 3,000 are worrying for MI5, and of those 500 are under constant and special attention.

There are tens of thousands of extremists in Europe, he warned, giving a number of more than 50,000.

“We must select those who are really worrying and the most dangerous, and they should be monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” the EU official said.

He also warned that European countries will suffer further attacks inspired by ISIS, saying greater measures must be taken to prevent them.

De Kerchove told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper a few weeks ago that threats in Europe have become more complicated after the terrorist attacks in Paris, Brussels and other European cities.

Several European countries believe that the dangers of extremist attacks in the EU are increasing as ISIS continues to suffer defeats in Iraq and Syria.

They believe that some of the foreign fighters will attempt to return to EU countries.



Israel Launches Communications Satellite from Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lifts off at Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy Space Center before the launch of Axiom Space Axiom Mission on June 25, 2025, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images/AFP
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lifts off at Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy Space Center before the launch of Axiom Space Axiom Mission on June 25, 2025, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images/AFP
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Israel Launches Communications Satellite from Florida

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lifts off at Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy Space Center before the launch of Axiom Space Axiom Mission on June 25, 2025, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images/AFP
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lifts off at Launch Complex 39A at NASA Kennedy Space Center before the launch of Axiom Space Axiom Mission on June 25, 2025, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/Getty Images/AFP

Israel on Sunday said it had launched a new national communications satellite on board a SpaceX rocket from the United States.

The Dror 1 satellite was blasted into orbit on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral in Florida, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and the foreign ministry said.

"This $200 million 'smartphone in space' will power Israel's strategic and civilian communications for 15 years," the ministry wrote on X.

Accompanying video footage showed the reusable, two-stage rocket lift off into the night sky. SpaceX said the launch happened at 1:04 am in Florida (0504 GMT Sunday).

IAI, which called the launch "a historic leap for Israeli space technology", said when it announced the project to develop and build Dror 1 that it was "the most advanced communication satellite ever built in Israel".

In September 2016, an unmanned Falcon 9 rocket exploded during a test in Florida, destroying Israel's Amos-6 communications satellite, which was estimated to have cost between $200 and 300 million.