Annual Report 2013
Two of the suicide attacks in Syria and Iraq have been committed by Dutch individuals who had travelled to Syria. Today this was revealed by the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Mr Plasterk at the presentation of the AIVD Annual Report 2013. This emphasizes the risk of jihad fighters travelling abroad and returning to our country.
The Annual Report 2013 states that the number of jihad fighters, who leave the Netherlands for Syria is growing constantly. A number of those people have returned and this fact seriously jeopardises national security. Not only can they have been tasked with committing an attack in the West, they might also contribute to the radicalisation of Dutch Muslims.
Economically not a level playing field
In its Annual Report the AIVD emphasizes two important developments in 2013. In addition to the unrest in the Middle East -not in the least as a result of the battle in Syria-, the AIVD also issues a warning against threats to our country's top economic and societal sectors. Digital espionage in search of political, economic and technological knowledge is becoming increasingly advanced. Furthermore, the AIVD has ascertained that in a number of countries politics, trade and industry and intelligence services are very closely linked. In economic sense this causes an unequal playing field.