'It's a case of when, not if': ISIS militants fleeing the Middle East will return home to the Caribbean and target western tourists, security minister warns

  • A new threat on tourists has been revealed in the Caribbean as ISIS militants are returning to their homes after losing ground in the Middle East 
  • Trinidad and Tobago, Maj. Gen. Edmund Dillon, minister of national security ominously declared its not a matter of 'yes, but when' 
  • Fighters from Trinidad and Tobago have gained respect among Isis for speaking English 

Tourists visiting the Caribbean islands are being warned about possible attacks by ISIS militants returning from from the Middle East.

Terrorists hailing from Trinidad and Tobago are attempting to return home as ISIS loses ground in the Middle East. 

When asked about the risks of ISIS members returning to Trinidad and Tobago, Maj. Gen. Edmund Dillon, minister of national security for that country, said, 'It is not a matter of yes, but when.' 

File photo of fighters of the Islamic State stand guard at a checkpoint in the northern Iraq city of Mosul

File photo of fighters of the Islamic State stand guard at a checkpoint in the northern Iraq city of Mosul

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is taking measures to prevent fighters from returning to the islands, according to PJMedia.  

'Per capita, Trinidad has the greatest number of foreign fighters from the Western Hemisphere who have joined the Islamic State,' John Estrada, a former U.S. ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, told The New York Times. 'Trinidadians do very well with ISIL.'

Fighters from Trinidad and Tobago have risen high up in the ranks, and gain respect for speaking English. 

Tourists are being warned of a possible threat by Isis as the Caribbean braces for the return of militants from failed fighting in Syria (file photo)

Tourists are being warned of a possible threat by Isis as the Caribbean braces for the return of militants from failed fighting in Syria (file photo)

ISIS has used them to spread propaganda throughout the Caribbean, Estrada added.  

The tiny country has a population of 1.3 million citizens, only 104,000 of whom are Muslim. 

At least 130 of them have traveled to Syria to fight with ISIS, according to Trinidad figures between 2013 and 2014.

In 2007, terrorists from the country and neighboring Guyana planned an attack on fuel tanks at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The terrorists were sentenced to life in prison in 2012.