German Intel: 17 Daesh Militants Entered EU Under Guise of Refugees

German Special Services know about at least 17 Daesh militants, who entered the European Union under the guise of refugees, Hans Georg Maassen, the head of the country's domestic intelligence agency, said Saturday.

BERLIN (Sputnik) — Maassen stressed, however, that most of them were killed or arrested.

"There is strong evidence that…17 people have arrived under Daesh's instructions," Maassen told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

According to official statistics, 200,000 refugees have arrived in Germany since January.

Germany, as well as other European countries, has seen an influx of migrants and refugees fleeing their home states mostly in the Middle East and North Africa to escape violence and poverty.

More than a million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe in 2015 alone, creating division in the EU over how best to deal with resettling them.