The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) reported that Operation Shams II identified 126 foreign terrorist fighters using artificial intelligence to process online images published by jihadist groups. The June 1-5, 2026 operation brought together 28 officers and experts from 11 countries and generated investigative leads that are supporting judicial proceedings in participating countries. Officers extracted 108,076 facial images, which AI tools deduplicated and quality-checked to produce 6,362 unique, high-quality images for comparison through INTERPOL’s Facial Recognition System. Trained officers and analysts reviewed and verified AI-generated output under INTERPOL’s data processing rules. The operation also used cryptocurrency tracing tools, resulting in three urgent requests for customer data from a virtual asset service provider, while further image comparisons remain underway and may produce additional leads.
2026-09-18INTERPOL
International Criminal Police Organization identifies 126 foreign terrorist fighters through AI-assisted digital operation
INTERPOL identified 126 foreign terrorist fighters through an AI-assisted operation analyzing images published by jihadist groups. AI tools reduced 108,076 extracted facial images to 6,362 unique, high-quality images for officer-reviewed facial recognition checks. Further comparisons are ongoing, and cryptocurrency tracing also prompted three urgent customer data requests to a virtual asset service provider.