Three Finnish men arrested over suspected "terrorism"

Three Finnish men arrested over suspected "terrorism"

HELSINKI - Three Finnish men were arrested in Helsinki on Friday on suspicion of carrying out "terrorist"crimes and joining foreign fighters abroad, police said.

The case was linked to Syria and the hardline Sunni Muslim group Islamic State, local broadcaster MTV said, citing unnamed sources. Police declined to comment on that report. "They are suspected of participating in an armed group's activity abroad, and of crimes with a terrorist purpose,"Finland's National Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.

Britain, Germany and other Western states have said they are worried local Muslims travelling to join Islamist rebels in Syria could return radicalised and carry out attacks at home.

Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot, has declared a cross-border caliphate on large areas of land seized in Syria and neighbouring Iraq.

In recent days it has ramped up an offensive on the Syrian border town of Kobani, despite being targeted by US-led coalition led air strikes aimed at halting its progress.

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.