France's top anti-terrorist judge has warned that Iraq is a black hole which has helped to radicalise some young Muslims and drawn them into violence

BBC News:

In an interview with the BBC, Jean-Louis Bruguiere says some Muslims are receiving training in Iraq before returning to Europe to carry out jihad.

He also warns that the terror threat facing Europe remains very high.

Combating Islamist terrorist cells is becoming harder as they are fragmenting in unpredictable ways, he says.

Judge Bruguiere is one of Europe's most experienced anti-terrorism investigators, who has specialised in tracking Islamist groups since the 1980s.

In his interview with the Today programme, he says he is pessimistic about the immediate future - saying the terror threat in Europe and the rest of the world remains very high.

He says Iraq has helped to draw some young Muslims into violence.

"It's quite a black hole sucking up all the elements located in Europe, and pushing them to leave Europe and go to Iraq," Mr Bruguiere said.

"Some of them come back to Europe with the need and the intention of committing jihad... in their home country in England, France, Spain, other country in Europe.

"Some of them have training for non-conventional weapons such as chemical and biological weapons and that were quite new in 2002, 2003."

The BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera says Judge Brugiere's concern over Iraq is widely shared, even by the CIA, according to leaked reports.

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