A week-long counter-terrorism operation coordinated by Europol with eight law enforcement agencies in Europe and the US FBI led to several arrests linked to the so-called Islamic State Khorasan Province and its support networks.
The action ran from 1 to 5 June and was organised by Europol’s European Counter Terrorism Centre, which brought investigators together to share intelligence in real time and identify overlaps between ongoing cases, Europol reported on Thursday.
The operation focused on individuals described as affiliated with Islamic State Khorasan Province — also known as ISKP — and of Chechen and Central Asian origin, identified through shared investigative leads.
Information sharing during the week helped authorities build a clearer picture of travel routes spanning Europe, South America and the United States.
Europol said it responded to an urgent intelligence request via SIENA, its secure information exchange channel used by law enforcement, over the weekend during the operation, which it said enabled arrests of several suspects.
More than 100 gigabytes of operational information was exchanged during the action week, which Europol said helped identify several suspects and advance multiple investigations.
Cyber and finance teams supported the investigation
Europol said it embedded analysts with each delegation to help spot connections between cases, support bilateral meetings and address gaps in investigations.
Its European Cybercrime Centre supported participating countries in tracking cryptocurrency trails, while the European Financial and Economic Crime Centre provided expertise on financing networks.
Participating authorities came from Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Finland, Italy, Ireland, Spain and the United States.
