JI H AD I S T AN D E T H N O - N AT I ON A L I S T T E RRORI S M Significant decrease in travel movements The successful establishment of the ʻIslamic Stateʼ in 2014 triggered a global wave of jihad-motivated travel to Syria and Iraq. Since 2016, number of depatures have plummeted. The corresponding statistics from other European states show a similar picture. The FIS has not detected any individuals travelling to or returning from the conflict area in Syria and Iraq since August 2016. However, one individual travelled to the Philippines in 2017 and was arrested there at the beginning of 2018. Jihadists in migration movements The European security authorities began paying increased attention to migration movements when it became known in 2015 and 2016 that in isolated cases attackers had made their way to Europe disguised as refugees. Newly arrived asylum seekers concerning whom there is evidence of involvement in terrorist activities or of links to terrorist networks are the exception rather than the rule. The migration-related counterterrorism cases handled by the FIS since then have generally involved individuals who have or had already been in Switzerland for some time. Ethno-nationalist terrorism The threat emanating from ethno-nationalist terrorism is estimated to be lower. This is because in recent years, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has shown itself to be largely nonviolent in Europe and in particularly in Switzerland; there have been isolated cases of rioting, for example at rallies. Violent clashes between PKK supporters and Turkish nationalists and/or supporters of Turkish President Erdogan currently pose the main threat in Switzerland. Confrontations are generally the result of direct provocation. The PKK receives at times support from Turkish and Swiss left-wing extremist groups. In spring 2018, increased PKK activism was recorded across Europe. This was due to the Turkish military interventions in Syria and Iraq. There were no violent riots in Switzerland. 42 S I T UAT I O N R E PORT 2 0 1 9 | F I S