Isis and Al Nusra militants found among UN refugees bound for Norway

Several Middle Eastern refugees set to be granted asylum in Norway under a UN scheme were found to have ties to the jihadist groups Islamic State (Isis) and Al Nusra Front.

"Unfortunately, there are people who try to exploit and abuse the refugee system. We have uncovered some quota refugees with links to the Nusra Front and the ISIL," police superintendent Svein Erik Molstad told Norway's Dagbladet newspaper.

On two trips to the Middle East to vet refugees bound for Norway, Norway's PST police intelligence unit uncovered that 10 of those on the list had links to the jihadist groups.

Both Isis and the al-Qaeda-linked Al Nusra Front are designated terrorist organisations by the United Nations (UN).

The migrants were part of the "quota" refugees cleared by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for resettlement in Norway.

The PST did not reveal the methods it employs to conduct background checks, or how it discovered the group's terror links. It said it could not rule out if other people with terror links had managed to secure residence in Norway.

Currently, the Norwegian parliament is locked in debate on the number of Syrian refugees that should be admitted to the country.

The government wants to admit 10,000 more to the country, though local authorities say they cannot resettle that many.

Currently, 5,000 refugees are in asylum centres in Norway, awaiting housing.

In May, a Libyan government official warned that Isis was smuggling militants into Europe on boat loads of refugees crossing the Mediterranean.