As many as 2,000 teenagers have been radicalized by the Islamic State in France, reports a security source in the French Le Figaro newspaper, also saying that the number of girls embracing the Jihadist ideology is increasing.
Following are points made in this Russia Today article:
— The security forces said they have identified 1,954 young men and women as ISIS terrorist organization sympathizers since the start of this year.
— Levels of radicalization among teens in the country have increased by 121 percent compared to January 2015.
— Seventeen French youths have been killed fighting for ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
— 37 teens have recently been indicted in France on terrorism and extremism charges.
— An increasing number of teenage girls are sympathizing with the ISIS terrorists.
— The source said the jihadists prey on youths with physiological problems who are going through tough times for reasons such as their parents getting divorced. They use special recruiting techniques to make the young men and woman easy targets for the radicals.
— French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that the terrorist threat in the country is higher than ever before, and he said that 300 people have been arrested in France for links to terrorist activity since the beginning of the year.
— France has been on high alert since the Charlie Hebdo tourist attack in January 2015 where 12 people were killed, and the Paris attack in November of that year where 130 people were killed by ISIS terrorists.
— Other notable recent attacks in France include the terrorist truck attack in Nice, France on July 14 which killed 84 people, and the two Islamic radicals beheading a Catholic priest later in July in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray.