German press reports cited Thomas de Maiziere as saying on Sunday that anyone who comes back from Syria to Germany and thinks that they can execute acts of terror would have their passports taken from them to restrict their freedom of movement.

The decision came after Belgium claimed that the attack on a Museum in Brussels was done by a French nationalist who had fought for Al-Qaeda in Syria.

De Maiziere stated that the German officials are creating a new working group that is going to research the changes they can make with the passports. He stressed the fact that the changes were going to be ‘proportional and within the constitutional laws’.

The Conference president of the German Minister of Internal Affairs, Ralf Jaeger, said that taking their passports away would be a barrier for them to return to Syria, which is their number-one aim, and that this was a major concern for Germany.

Jaeger said that it would be very hard for people whose passports have been taken away to return to Germany, and that they are thinking of prohibiting German citizens that want to come back from Syria.

The Federal Constitution Security Intelligence President Hans-Georg Masseen said that after the war in Syria began when about 100 Syrians returned to Germany. Among them there is thought to be about fifteen people who were active in the war.

De Maiziere made it clear that it was important to work with district intelligence to send those people back. They also stated that it was important to get help not only from the countries of the European Union but to also get help from Turkey and the United States of America.

A British defense study showed that about 100,000 militants, fragmented into 1,000 groups, are fighting in Syria against the government and people.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, Western powers and their regional allies - especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey - are supporting the militants operating inside the country.

NTJ/MB