VILNIUS, October 15. / TASS /. More than ten people suspected of being affiliated with terrorist groups entered Lithuania through Belarus by joining the influx of illegal migrants from Asia and Africa, Chairman of the Committee on National Security and Defense Laurynas Kasciunas told the Delfi web portal on Friday.

"As many as four such persons have already been expelled from Lithuania. Over ten migrants suspected of having ties with terrorists have been identified," the security chief said. The order for their deportation is underway, according to Kasciunas.

As stated in media reports, these illegal migrants are suspected of having ties to members of the Islamic State (IS, banned in Russia) terrorist organization, the Boko Haram Islamist group, and Kurdish terrorist organizations.

The first of those suspected of having terror links had been expelled from Lithuania in September.

Since the start of 2021, over 4,000 illegal migrants from Asian and African countries have been apprehended at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border, some 50 times more than for the entire year of 2020. Vilnius believes that the migration crisis was triggered by Minsk, calling it a ‘hybrid attack’ on Lithuania for its political support of the Belarusian opposition.