The United Kingdom has raised its terror threat level to the second highest level in response to conflicts in Iraq and Syria.
On Friday, UK Home Secretary Theresa May said the threat level was raised from “substantial” to “severe”, reported the BBC.
The new alert level rates the risk of an attack on the UK “highly likely”, although Mrs May said there was no evidence to suggest one was “imminent”.
David Cameron promised new legislation would make it easier to take passports from those travelling abroad to fight.
In a Downing Street press conference on Friday, the prime minister said Islamic State (IS) extremists – who are attempting to establish a “caliphate”, or Islamic state – represented a “greater and deeper threat to our security than we have known before”.
He said that “learning lessons from the past doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for our military” in combating the threat, but did not commit to any military action.
He added the “threat is growing” from Britons travelling to fight with IS, saying at least 500 people had travelled from the UK “to fight in Syria and potentially Iraq”.
Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, the Association of Chief Police Officers’ lead for counter-terrorism, said security and protection measures were being increased following the raised threat level.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
