Foreign Fighters and the Terrorist Threat in Belgium

For a few years, the return of experienced jihadi fighters from the Levant was perceived as the main threat to the homeland. With hindsight, the 2016 Brussels attacks were the last operation prepared and staged by ISIS in Europe, involving returnees. With the disintegration of ISIS’s caliphate, the threat posed by the group has evolved significantly. Returnees are no longer the sole – or even main – concern of security services.