‘Nearly Impossible’ to Find Jihadists Among Migrants, Greek Officials Warn

Aid workers gesture at a migrant boat as it approaches shore after making the crossing from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos on November 17, 2015 in Sikaminias, Greece. Carl Court/Getty Images

Greek authorities warned that it’s “nearly impossible” to detect jihadists among migrants coming into Europe or the United States without prior intelligence.

“If they are not already registered in the database, it’s nearly impossible,” Dimitris Amountzias, the police captain in charge of Moria--the main registration camp on Greece’s island of Lesbos. He was quoted by the AFP news agency as making the comments.

Dozens of migrants, refugees, and others get in line to give their fingerprints, have their photo taken, and get quizzed by European authorities. According to AFP, the jihadists have been able to easily bypass the seemingly detailed security checks by the European border agency.

Ahmad al-Mohammad was identified as a terrorist only after the fact. His fingerprint was taken when he passed through the processing center in Greece. He was considered a fleeing refugee. 

Another European official said, “In any event, this proves that the unchecked flow poses an unequalled challenge for European security. We simply don’t know who is coming through,” according to AFP in another report.

Migrants are guarded by Greek policemen as they wait to be registered at a camp set up for migrants from Afghanistan near Moria on the island of Lesbos, Greece, on Oct. 7. Zoltan Balogh/MTI via AP