WASHINGTON — Earlier this year, the case of Harry Sarfo made headlines around the world. The former Islamic State militant from Germany had returned to Europe, where he was arrested and started to collaborate with the authorities. He also gave interviews in which he portrayed himself as an innocent bystander.

A Washington Post investigation, however, later found that Sarfo was much more involved in executions than he wanted to make the public and investigators believe. The revelations underlined questions about whether returnees can be trusted.

A confidential new report by German authorities now provides insights into what investigators know about the mindsets of those who have returned to Europe. At the core of the report, partially published by German newspaper Die Welt, is the question of what differentiates a disillusioned returnee from a dangerous individual who still believes Islamic State ideology and might be willing to conduct attacks in Europe.

Only 10 percent of all returnees are disillusioned with the ideology, the new data suggest. Eight percent of them might only have come back to their home country Germany to recover from being on the battlefield, the report says.

About half stay committed to extremist ideology.

The large number of returnees since 2013 has put pressure on European authorities who lack the resources to monitor terrorism suspects. The lack of observation could turn out to be a dangerous gamble, the report suggests.

Washington Post