×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Friday
30
Jan 2026
weather symbol
Athens 16°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> Greece

Brussels and Paris terrorists used Greece as gateway into Europe

Intelligence reports says ISIS terrorists use refugee flows to enter Europe

Newsroom April 2 11:32

According to confidential reports by European and US intelligence agencies, Greece has turned into a gateway for islamist terrorists planning hits in European cities. The reports say that most of the terrorists that carried out attacks in Paris and Brussels crossed into central Europe via the refugee flows coming into Greece, avoiding the use of their EU passports since they were under surveillance by EU authorities. The islands of Leros, Chos and Lesvos in the eastern Aegean are the entry points of EU citizens of Middle Eastern origin, as well as Syrian and Iraqi fanatic Islamist jihadists fighting in the Syrian and Iraqi conflicts. About 500 jihadists with EU passports received combat experience in the Syrian war between 2012-2015 and are returning via the refugee flows to Europe to undertake attacks in the upcoming months, say the reports. Greece is not considered a target for the islamists, but the open border policy adopted by the left SYRIZA government has lead to tens of thousands of desperate and disenfranchised refugees and illegal immigrants being trapped in the county, making Greece a ‘fertile’ recruiting ground for the fanatic islamists. The report says that the terrorists involved in the Paris and Brussels attacks had been traveling in and out of Greece planning the attacks in France and Belgium. Two of the Stade de France terrorist attackers in Paris had been rescued by the Greek coastguard near the island of Farmakonisi before subsequently traveling to France, while the Brussels metro station suicide bomber, Halid al Bakraoui travelled to Athens via Italy from Belgium on July 25 2015 where he met up with his brother Ibrahim. The leader of the Paris attacks, Adbelslam was in Greece on August 1 via Patras and Italy. In Patras he reportedly came in contact with other members of the group who entered Greece directly via Syria with the refugee flows.

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

> More Greece

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

Jessie J: ‘Cancer was the harshest thing my breasts ever had to endure’

January 30, 2026

Erdogan wants a mediating role between Tehran and Washington, and pushes for trilateral talks between Türkiye, Iran, and the US

January 30, 2026

Trump nominates Kevin Wears for Fed chairman

January 30, 2026

Natural disasters: When early prevention offers protection

January 30, 2026

WD-40: The ultimate commercial success and the big secret

January 30, 2026

Prosecutorial investigation into responsibility for the Violanta tragedy: What is being examined

January 30, 2026

The unknown chapel of the Three Hierarchs in Pagrati, where Alexandros Papadiamantis chanted hymns

January 30, 2026

Cyprus: 13 kilograms of TNT go missing from National Guard firing range

January 30, 2026
All News

> Economy

WD-40: The ultimate commercial success and the big secret

Why no one truly knows its formula—and why it remains one of the world’s greatest industrial mysteries

January 30, 2026

Salary increases from tax cuts credited to bank accounts today: Who benefits the most, see examples

January 30, 2026

ELSTAT: Unemployment fell to 7.5% in December

January 29, 2026

In February in Washington, the crucial ministerial meeting on the Vertical Energy Corridor: What Joshua Volz said in Athens

January 29, 2026

Aluminium Dunkerque: Six foreign “bidders” for Europe’s largest aluminum smelter – Metlen in the spotlight

January 29, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα