ISIS preparing mustard gas attacks on Britain, Al-Qaeda is back: UK minister

UK's Minister of State for Security started the year apprising people about various threats such as chemical attacks by Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the rise of Al-Qaeda.

Also read: Will 2017 be the year the world finally gets rid of ISIS for good?

Ben Wallace, the Conservative MP for Wyre and Preston North, said that ISIS has no moral objection to using chemical weapons against populations and would do so if they could. He also added that security forces in the UK are preparing in case such an incident takes place.

ISIS can produce mustard gas and has already used it on civilians in the Middle East. The chemical leaves painful blisters on the skin and damages lungs.

He also added that Al-Qaeda is rising back to power and is becoming a credible threat. The UK's biggest threat in the coming years is cyber attacks, he added.

"There are traitors. The insider threat, as we would call it, is real and can be exploited and there are people trying to do that as we speak. If it's hard to get in the front door, then what you try and do is get someone on the inside," Wallace said.

The European country maintains high level of vigilance after various countries fighting ISIS -- France, Belgium and Turkey -- faced attacks.

Almost 200 names are on the SAS list of jihadists, who could return to the country.

During New Year's eve celebration in London, scores of police officers were present near the London Eye where fireworks took place. The warning from the MP comes after two attacks in Istanbul.

In Germany, a truck attack on a busy Berlin market before Christmas had killed 12 people. The attacker was an Islamist jihadi and was killed in a shootout in Italy.