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| European spy agencies to boost intel-sharing on extremists | |
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| BERLIN — European intelligence agencies plan to boost their fight against Islamic militants by creating a virtual network to share information among up to 30 countries, officials said Friday. | BERLIN — European intelligence agencies plan to boost their fight against Islamic militants by creating a virtual network to share information among up to 30 countries, officials said Friday. |
| The Counter Terrorism Group — a discreet and informal grouping of domestic spy agencies from the 28 European Union countries, Norway and Switzerland — aims to create the new platform by July 1, according to a joint statement by German and Dutch intelligence agencies. | The Counter Terrorism Group — a discreet and informal grouping of domestic spy agencies from the 28 European Union countries, Norway and Switzerland — aims to create the new platform by July 1, according to a joint statement by German and Dutch intelligence agencies. |
| The Nov. 13 attacks in Paris by extremists linked to the Islamic State group, which left 130 people dead, prompted renewed calls for greater cross-border intelligence cooperation in Europe. | The Nov. 13 attacks in Paris by extremists linked to the Islamic State group, which left 130 people dead, prompted renewed calls for greater cross-border intelligence cooperation in Europe. |
| “Terrorist attacks in Europe, like recently in France, have shown time and again that both IS and al-Qaida operate in international networks,” the head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, Hans-Georg Maassen, said in a statement. | “Terrorist attacks in Europe, like recently in France, have shown time and again that both IS and al-Qaida operate in international networks,” the head of Germany’s domestic intelligence agency, Hans-Georg Maassen, said in a statement. |
| “In order to prevent further attacks by foreign fighters, all relevant information will have to be made available to European intelligence and security services,” he added. | “In order to prevent further attacks by foreign fighters, all relevant information will have to be made available to European intelligence and security services,” he added. |
| The Counter Terrorism Group, which was founded in 2002, is currently chaired by the Netherlands, which has been tasked with setting up the new intelligence-sharing platform in the first half of 2016. | The Counter Terrorism Group, which was founded in 2002, is currently chaired by the Netherlands, which has been tasked with setting up the new intelligence-sharing platform in the first half of 2016. |
| Rob Bertholee, head of the Dutch AIVD service, said the platform would focus on “foreign fighters and the threat they and their associates pose, and to do so on a multilateral basis and as quickly and as completely as possible.” | Rob Bertholee, head of the Dutch AIVD service, said the platform would focus on “foreign fighters and the threat they and their associates pose, and to do so on a multilateral basis and as quickly and as completely as possible.” |
| It wasn’t immediately clear how the CTG would deal with the different laws that restrain what information its members can collect and share with other agencies — a perennial problem in the EU, where security remains the task of individual states. | It wasn’t immediately clear how the CTG would deal with the different laws that restrain what information its members can collect and share with other agencies — a perennial problem in the EU, where security remains the task of individual states. |
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| Follow Frank Jordans on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/wirereporter | Follow Frank Jordans on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/wirereporter |
| Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |