Islamic State

Dane imprisoned for fighting with Isis

A Danish national has been handed a three-year jail term in Lebanon for fighting with the radical Islamist organisation Isis.

The man, who has been identified only by the initials A.I., received his sentence from a Lebanese court after being found guilty of having links to Isis. His lawyer, Fawaz Zakaria, confirmed that his client had been sentenced to three years in jail to Danish media shortly after the verdict.

Zakaria said that he was sentenced to three years in jail for fighting with the Islamic State in Syria, as well as having played a role in an attack in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, which IS was reportedly responsible for.

Although the Dane confessed to fighting with IS in Syria, he denied being involved in the Tripoli attack. He had previously been affiliated with the Al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra.

Denmark is per capita the second biggest European source of jihadist fighters travelling to the Middle East, with Belgium in first place. The Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) estimates that no less than 115 Danish fighters have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight since the onset of the civil war five years ago. At least 19 have been killed in action.