Internet 'a weapon'

The newly-appointed UN counter-terrorism chief has warned that the internet is effectively being used as a weapon by terrorists, reports Reuters.

Mike Smith said that terrorists around the world can use the internet as a place to organize and communicate. For this reason the internet must be much more closely monitored by the UN and individual nations' security outfits, he added.

Mr Smith told the news service: "The internet is a real worry and I don't think we've found the answer yet. "In the old days extremists used to have to cross borders to plan and attack sites. Nowadays a lot of that stuff can happen on the internet, they can give instructions, they can coordinate, they can recruit through these jihadi websites."

An international campaign against using the internet for militant purposes must be initiated by the UN, Mr Smith added. Meanwhile, the list of terrorism suspects that the UN and the EU keeps includes the names of people who are entirely innocent, the Council of Europe's legal committee has said.