Nigeria was among 11 countries involved in an INTERPOL counter-terrorism operation that used artificial intelligence and facial recognition technology to identify 126 suspected foreign terrorist fighters from digital material published by jihadist groups. The operation, known as Operation Shams II, brought together 28 specialised officers and experts during a five-day exercise in Tunis, Tunisia, from June 1 to 5, 2026. INTERPOL announced the results on September 18.
The scale of the material examined was substantial. Investigators extracted 108,076 facial images from visual content published by jihadist groups. Using AI-assisted tools and specially developed scripts, they then worked to remove duplicate images and assess the quality of the material before it was submitted for facial recognition processing.
That process reduced the dataset to 6,362 unique, high-quality facial images. INTERPOL said these images were processed through its Facial Recognition System, alongside additional material supplied by its National Central Bureau in Baghdad, Iraq.
The organisation said the operation has so far resulted in the identification of 126 Foreign Terrorist Fighters. The matches are being used to strengthen existing intelligence on the individuals, including information that could help investigators establish their potential locations and social networks.
INTERPOL stressed that the identifications were not produced by an automated system operating without human oversight. AI-generated results were reviewed and verified by trained officers and analysts in accordance with the organisation’s rules governing the processing of data. That distinction is significant because the technology was used to help investigators handle a large volume of material, while final investigative decisions remained subject to human examination.
The resulting intelligence is now being incorporated into INTERPOL databases as participating countries work to detect, track and disrupt the cross-border movement of suspected terrorist fighters. INTERPOL said some of the investigative leads generated during the operation are already supporting judicial proceedings, including a case involving two suspected foreign terrorist fighters who are currently detained. Thousands of additional images remain to be processed, meaning investigators could generate further leads as the work continues.
Nigeria’s participation placed it alongside Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Iraq, Kenya, Malaysia, the Philippines, Qatar, Tajikistan, Tunisia and Uzbekistan. The multinational composition of the operation reflects the cross-border nature of the networks investigators are attempting to trace, with intelligence gathered in one country potentially contributing to investigations in another.
Operation Shams II was not limited to facial recognition. Investigators also used cryptocurrency tracing tools to examine suspected illicit financing linked to terrorist activity. INTERPOL said the financial investigation resulted in three requests to a virtual asset service provider for customer information, as authorities sought to disrupt suspected financing flows.
The operation also brought law enforcement officials into discussions with representatives of the online gaming industry over concerns about youth radicalisation in digital environments. INTERPOL said the engagement was intended to strengthen cooperation and improve information sharing between law enforcement and the private sector.
For INTERPOL, the operation demonstrates how international police cooperation can be combined with AI-assisted analysis when investigators are confronted with large quantities of digital material. María Carmen Muñoz González, INTERPOL’s Director of Counter-Terrorism, said the model could provide a foundation for future international law enforcement cooperation targeting criminal networks.
Operation Shams II was conducted under INTERPOL’s CT TECH+ Project, which is funded through the European Union’s Foreign Policy Instruments and supported by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism. The operation’s findings also point to a broader shift in how international investigators are handling online material, particularly when the volume of images and other digital evidence makes manual examination alone difficult.
For now, INTERPOL says the work is continuing. With thousands of images still awaiting processing, the 126 suspected foreign terrorist fighters identified so far represent the current results of an investigation that is not yet complete.
