Egyptian parliament speaker Ali Abdel-Aal on Sunday (October 20th) said the government should raise the alarm about returning extremists who are currently fighting in Iraq, Syria and Libya, Ahram Online reported.
"These kinds of foreign fighters, who are members of the 'Islamic State of Iraq and Syria' (ISIS) or other terrorist groups, could come back home or move to other fronts or work as sleeper cells," he said.
"The government should be ready to protect the country from this phenomenon," he added.
According to Abdel-Aal, Egypt's battle against terrorism and terrorists should not be confined to armed struggle.
"The battle should also include cultural, social and media elements to raise the awareness of the people of this dangerous phenomenon," he said.
"I mean that all government authorities should prepare from now and join shoulders to safeguard the country from this big threat," Abdel-Aal said.
He proposed that a joint governmental-parliamentary committee be formed to seek new strategies that can help fight extremism, hate speech, and send early warning signals on the return of foreign fighters and sleeper cells.
