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Teen who 'joined Isis' returns to Sweden

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TT/The Local - [email protected]
Teen who 'joined Isis' returns to Sweden
Isis fighters seen here in the Anbar province, Iraq. Photo: Ritsaiph/Wikicommons

A teenage boy who disappeared from southern Sweden in the spring and is thought to have joined Isis (Islamic State), has returned to Sweden.

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A 17-year-old who disappeared from Lund earlier this year to reportedly join Isis, has returned to Sweden, Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet has reported.

The teenager, who is now said to have distanced himself from Isis, was reportedly able to return with the help of the National Coordinator against Extremism, led by Mona Sahlin.

In May he appeared in a propaganda video on YouTube posing with automatic weapons.

Last month, The Local reported that a man from central Sweden who is believed to have been fighting alongside Isis had reportedly been killed.

The Swede, who is thought to be in his 30s and who had been living in Örebro, is understood to be one of a group of three people from the area known to have travelled to the Middle East to join the radical Islamist group, also known as Isis and IS.

There are growing concerns in Sweden about the number of young people from the Nordics who are coming into contact with extremist groups.

Earlier in August, a pregnant 15-year-old Swedish girl and her 19-year-old partner were captured by extremist Islamist fighters in Syria.

Sweden's Security Service, Säpo, has previously said that up to 150 Swedish residents are known to have spent time in Syria or Iraq fighting for Isis or other radical organisations, with intelligence suggesting that at least 40 have died in the process.

Sweden is considering drafting new legislation that would ban its nationals from fighting in armed conflicts for armed extremist groups such as the Islamic State (Isis), the government announced in June.

The proposed ban would prohibit combat for terrorist organizations listed as such by the United Nations or European Union.

SEE ALSO: ‘Sweden should target women extremists more’

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