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Daesh hunting for recruits in US high schools: FBI

Daesh is looking for recruits among US high school students, the FBI has warned.

The Daesh (ISIL) Takfiri group has launched a recruitment campaign in several US high schools, aiming to lure students into joining the terrorist group, the FBI says.

The terror group has been particularly active in Phoenix, Arizona- something that alarmed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), according to a Fox News report.

The ongoing recruitment campaign prompted FBI officials to brief Phoenix police in Precinct 900, also known as "Cactus Park," two weeks ago, shortly before the November 13 attacks in Paris that killed 132 people.

They warned the police against Daesh’s attempts to get "high-school age students" within its ranks.

"ISIS was recruiting high-school age students and the bureau wanted us to know what to look for," an insider source told Fox News, using an alternative acronym for Daesh.

A high-ranking Phoenix officer who attended the briefing also said that "the FBI says Phoenix is a hotbed and very active, lots of chatter on the airwaves."

Police and other security forces in Arizona have stepped up security efforts following the warning. Fox News noted that as a result of the escalation, Border Patrol agents in Arizona detained three Saudi nationals last Saturday for supposedly trying to evade a highway checkpoint.

They were reportedly nabbed near an area known for being one of the hottest smuggling routes in the US. Five Pakistani nationals and one Afghan citizen were also arrested there two days later, charged for attempting to illegally enter America.

Eventually, the Saudi nationals were identified as students at the University of Arizona, who had entered the country with student visas.

Earlier in November, three Denver girls aged 17, 15 and 15, were arrested in Germany on their way to join the Takfiri group in Syria.

Moreover, federal law enforcement agents arrested a 17-year-old Virginia student in March, on charge of facilitating ISIL recruitments.

Security agencies in the US have been on alert following the recent attacks in the French capital. Ever since the Paris attacks, Daesh has threatened to carry out bombings in major US cities such as New York and Washington.


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