Number of Latvian Islamists «negligible»

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The number of Latvian residents with radial Islamist views is tiny when compared with other countries, Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis said on LTV Friday.

"We are not comparable to the numbers in other countries in the neighborhood, such as Finland," Kozlovskis told the Rita Panorama news show.

"There are countries where you are talking about thousands, where you are talking about hundreds, where you are talking about dozens. We are talking about a smaller number than that," Kozlovskis said.

However, in Latvia there are a handful of individuals who have publicly expressed their support for radical Islam, jihad and terrorism, the minister admitted. 

"Our information suggests the situation is not dramatic... there is no upward trend," he stated, while declining to give precise numbers or disucc how many Latvian residents might have travelled to Syria to join the ranks of Daesh.

He characterised the prospect of domestic terrorism as a "medium term" threat while promising to that it would be "eliminated in good time."

It has previously been reported that at least one Latvian has joined the ranks of the Daesh terror group.

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