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Around 140 Swedish people have returned to the country after fighting for terror organisations in Syria and Iraq. Lund County, in south Sweden, is now considering giving the jihadi defectors incentives to reintegrate into society. The mooted benefits are housing grants, help to re-enter the workforce and free driving licenses.

GETTY Lund County wants to give returned ISIS fighters state-financed driving licenses

Lund County’s municipal co-ordinator against violent extremism, Anna Sjostrand, said her region would deal with the returned radicals the same way they would deal with criminals attempting to reenter society. Ms Sjostrand said: “When the subject first came up, we thought ‘Oh God, how should we handle this?’ “But we pretty quickly realised that we should deal with [people defecting from ISIS] in the same way [we deal with people defecting from criminal gangs].”

NC The mooted benefits are housing grants and help to re-enter the workforce

[Without support] they might make an attempt and fail Christoffer Carlsson

The approach has been supported by a report by the national coordinator against violent extremism. Author of the report, Christoffer Carlsson, said that a person who wants to leave extremist environments often need support to be able to do it. Mr Carlsson said: “It’s a straight social, economic and material question. You need to be able to reintegrate into the job market, you may need to have a driving license, debt settlement and a roof over your head.

Battle for Mosul Tue, January 12, 2016 A major offensive to recapture Mosul from ISIS continues. Play slideshow REUTERS 1 of 80 Members of the Iraqi rapid response forces fire missile toward Islamic State militants during a battle between Iraqi forces and Islamic State militants in Somer district of eastern Mosul