A new intelligence report in the U.S. warned that ISIS can ably produce fake Syrian passports.
A spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed the contents of the intelligence report, which said that Islamic State can access the passport printing machines and blank passports of the Syria government, with the possibility of faking travel documents.
The source said there is another concern beyond the report: this ability, coupled with the group’s access to Syrian government facilities containing biographical data and biometrics of Syrians, could pave the way for identity theft.
A media outlet earlier reported that the Homeland Security Investigations agency released the report last week and focused on the possibility of the militants using the documents to enter U.S. territory.
The news outlet quoted the report as saying that since more than 17 months have passed after Raqqa and Deir ez-Zour fell to ISIS, people from Syria with passports issued in ISIS-dominated cities or who had passport blanks have possibly traveled to the U.S.
State department spokesperson John Kirby said at a Friday briefing that the government is aware of this potential threat, and this it is something they are taking seriously and are clearly mindful of.
At a Senate committee hearing on Wednesday, Dec.9, FBI director James Comey said that intelligence groups are having concerns that ISIS has the capability – but added that the forging of documents is a security threat everywhere.
“Fraudulent passports… [are] a concern in any setting,” he said.
Fake Syrian passports had already entered Europe, particularly in the case of suicide bombers in the series of coordinated attacks in Paris last month. The two perpetrators allegedly entered the continent along with Syrian refugees who had fled their homeland.
Syria is also believed to be awash in fake documents. The report revealed that according to the source, fake Syrian passports can be bought in conflict-ridden Syria for $200 to $400, and that one can expect to spend the same amount for backdated passport stamps to be put in the passport.
International news organizations also confirmed their journalists had successfully purchased fake Syrian passports worth a few thousand dollars.
