More than 700 potential terror suspects have travelled to Syria and hundreds have returned to the UK, according to Scotland Yard.
Around 350 of the people of "significant concern" who visited the country are thought to have come back and police are arresting nearly one suspect every day.
A record 338 people were detained on suspicion of terrorism offences in 2014/15 - a rise of a third compared to the previous year.
Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, who is in charge of police counter-terrorism efforts nationally, said more than half of the arrests were related to Syria.
"The number of people who have travelled to Syria has passed 700, in terms of those who are of significant concern to us and the security services," he said.
"They are not aid workers or visiting relatives - they are people of real concern that they are getting involved in fighting or are supportive of it. They are potential terrorist suspects."
Asked about the number who have returned to the UK, he said: "It is a fairly even balance between those still out there and those who have come back."
It comes as the Foreign Office says it is "looking into" reports that three British schoolgirls are on the run after escaping from Islamic State - also known as ISIL - in Iraq.
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