British ambassador Peter Westmacott warned that among the 70 UK jihadists arrested after returning to Britain, a number were carrying “very specific” instructions for terrorist missions in the UK. British intelligence is coming close to identifying the Islamic State jihadist who beheaded American journalist James Foley; among those being investigated is UK rapper-turned-jihadist Abdel Majed Abdel Bary. The UK plans to send non-lethal equipment to Kurdish forces fighting the Islamic State; Westmacott also indicated that given the IS’ record of seizing weapons and other support intended for the moderate Syrian opposition, the UK and US’ caution about providing weapons to the Syrian rebels “was perhaps well-founded.” Last year, 3,527 illegal immigrants likely entered the UK despite failing border checks; authorities located 846 of the absconders, but about 2,700, or 76 percent, remained at large. Shadow home secretary David Davis criticized proposed new antiterrorism laws as insufficient, and said British jihadists should be stripped of UK citizenship and be banned from returning to the UK.
