EU official: Islamic State group may be using Mediterranean to smuggle terrorists into Europe

Migrants wait to be disembarked from the Italian Navy ship Dattilo, at the Reggio Calabria harbor, Southern Italy, Thursday, July 2, 2015. The number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean to southern Europe was more than 80 percent higher in the first half of 2015 than a year earlier, with deaths initially soaring before dropping back as rescue efforts at sea were stepped up, the U.N. refugee agency said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Adriana Sapone) (The Associated Press)

Migrants disembark from the Italian Navy ship Dattilo, at the Reggio Calabria harbor, Southern Italy, Thursday, July 2, 2015. The number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean to southern Europe was more than 80 percent higher in the first half of 2015 than a year earlier, with deaths initially soaring before dropping back as rescue efforts at sea were stepped up, the U.N. refugee agency said Wednesday. (AP Photo/Adriana Sapone) (The Associated Press)

BRUSSELS – The European Union's top prosecutor says she has been told that smugglers' boats bringing migrants across the Mediterranean to Europe also are carrying terrorist fighters from the Islamic State group.

Michele Coninsx, head of the EU's judicial cooperation agency Eurojust, told reporters Monday she received the information as part of Eurojust's efforts to help EU nations jointly respond to illegal immigration, terrorism and cybercrime.

Coninsx said Eurojust's coordination efforts are ongoing and she couldn't divulge what EU nations have told the agency.

She told The Associated Press it isn't yet clear what problem the reported infiltration of Islamic militants may pose for European law enforcement. But she said also groups like Islamic State are also using proceeds from people trafficking to fund terrorism.