Carson: U.S. should bar Syrian refugees

DES MOINES, Iowa - Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson said the United States should bar refugees from war-torn Syria because they are "infiltrated" with Muslim extremists who seek to harm America.

The comments come as Carson has taken an increasingly aggressive stance toward Muslims, and after Donald Trump pledged he would support deporting Syrian Muslims from the United States.

"To bring into this country groups infiltrated with jihadists makes no sense," Carson told about 150 people at the Des Moines Rotary Club. "Why would you do something like that?"

Instead, Carson recommended that the U.S. help settle Syrian refugees in the Middle East, in places such as Turkey.

In Carson's view, the U.S. could assist financially but not open its doors. He did not explain how U.S. aid could be steered to innocent refugees without falling into the hands of the extremists he believes are among them.

Germany's top security official said Friday that authorities had found no cases of terrorists with instructions to carry out attacks in the country mixing into the flow of incoming migrants.

Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said authorities had received tips from intelligence services that this could happen, but so far such concerns haven't been confirmed.

Carson later told reporters that, despite the German official's comments, terrorists "would be fools not to" try to enter the United States with refugees.

"At some point you have to use common sense and judgment," Carlson said. "If you are part of the global jihadist movement, and you see large numbers of people from your area moving into the United States, wouldn't you want to infiltrate them?"

Carson's comments echo Trump, who said Wednesday: "If I win, they're going back," referring to Muslim Syrian refugees.

Carson now finds himself among the top contenders in national Republican preference polls.

He also reported raising $20 million for his campaign in the third quarter.