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The European Cybercrime Centre supported states in tracking cryptocurrency trails. File picture<\/p>\nIreland has taken part in an international police operation targeting an offshoot of the fanatical Islamic State terrorist network.<\/p>\n
The investigation \u2014 coordinated by the EU police agency Europol and involving the FBI \u2014 targeted \u201csupport networks across Europe\u201d of the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP).<\/p>\n
A number of suspects were arrested in what Europol said were \u201cmultiple high-stakes investigations\u201d.<\/p>\n
The ISKP emerged from a regional branch of the Islamic State in Afghanistan but has spread its jihadist network across Russia and into Europe.<\/p>\n
Garda security and intelligence has been monitoring a small group of supporters in Ireland in recent years.<\/p>\n
A statement issued by the EU police agency said: \u201cEuropol, in coordination with eight European law enforcement agencies and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), successfully concluded a week-long operational action targeting the so-called Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) and its support networks across Europe.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It said the ISKP remains \u201ca significant threat in jihadi terrorism, with its networks in Europe posing a major concern\u201d.<\/p>\n
The investigation was organised by Europol\u2019s European Counter Terrorism Centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt brought together investigators to exchange real-time intelligence, disrupt terrorist networks, and reinforce cross-border cooperation,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n
The operation, which ran from June 1-5, focused on ISKP-affiliated individuals of Chechen and Central Asian origin, identified through shared investigative leads.<\/p>\n
Seven EU members\u00a0\u2014 Ireland, Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Finland, Italy, Spain \u2014 joined the US in the operation.<\/p>\n
The statement said the collaboration and cross-referencing of information across continents allowed for \u201caccelerated detailing of ISKP travel routes\u201d spanning Europe, South America, and the United States.<\/p>\n
It said: \u201cThe close cooperation yielded immediate results after Europol swiftly responded to an urgent intelligence request via SIENA over the ensuing weekend, which allowed authorities to arrest several suspects.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The European Cybercrime Centre supported states in tracking cryptocurrency trails. File picture<\/p>\n
The statement said that, throughout the week, over 100 gigabytes of operational information was exchanged, enabling the \u201cfull identification of several suspects\u201d and advancing what it said were \u201cmultiple high-stakes investigations”.<\/p>\n
It said Europol \u201cembedded dedicated analysts with each participating delegation\u201d to identify critical investigative overlaps, facilitate bilateral meetings, and resolve blind spots in ongoing cases.<\/p>\n
A sister Europol section, the European Cybercrime Centre, supported member states in tracking cryptocurrency trails.<\/p>\n
Another Europol unit, the European Financial and Economic Crime Centre, provided expertise on financing networks.<\/p>\n
The statement said: \u201cThis operation underscores Europol\u2019s strengthened global partnerships in counter-terrorism, highlighting the agency\u2019s commitment to disrupting threats through coordinated, intelligence-driven action.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy bridging national borders, the action week reinforced operational trust, mapped ISKP activities in Europe, and demonstrated the critical role of international collaboration in combating terrorism.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
In January 2025, Garda security and intelligence was alerted to a poster that circulated online, including in the German Bild newspaper, of a threat purported to be from ISKP highlighting 10 cultural events in Europe, including St Patrick\u2019s Day, as potential targets.<\/p>\n
\n Bild said the poster was published on the ISPK platform “Al Azaim Media”.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ISPK, or IS-K, stands for the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, with was responsible for the March 2024 terror attack in Moscow, leaving over 140 concertgoers dead.<\/p>\n
In August 2024, the CIA tipped off Austrian authorities about an ISPK inspired terror plot targeting Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna, which intended to cause “mass casualties”.<\/p>\n
Last May, a 21-year-old Austrian man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for planning the jihadist attack, which was to involve a bomb and the use of knives.<\/p>\n
Another 21-year-old, from Slovakia, previously received 12 years in prison for his role in the cell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ireland has taken part in an international police operation targeting an offshoot of the fanatical Islamic State terrorist…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":507296,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[45,29662,61,60,43],"class_list":["post-507295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-an-garda-siochana","tag-cybercrime","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=507295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/507296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=507295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=507295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=507295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}