Europol has identified 4,340 URLs for removal in a coordinated operation targeting The Com, a loosely organized network of nihilistic violent extremist groups. The multi-week enforcement action took place between June and July 2026 as part of what authorities called “Referral Action Days,” involving investigators from nine European countries.
Law enforcement agencies from Belgium, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden participated in the operation. Europol’s EU Internet Referral Unit (EU IRU) and Spain’s Intelligence Centre against Terrorism and Organised Crime (CITCO) organized the joint action, which aligns with the European Commission’s ProtectEU counterterrorism agenda.
What Content Was Targeted in the Operation?
The flagged content included violent videos and images depicting self-harm, suicide, child sexual abuse material, animal cruelty, and violent attacks. According to Europol, The Com’s content features coded language and emojis that obscure sinister messages encouraging self-harm and sexual exploitation of minors.
Investigators also targeted videos of violent street attacks known as “manhunt” and arson content. Additionally, the operation identified manuals and guides covering grooming, murder, improvised explosives, and ideological viewpoints created to instruct members on committing violent attacks, grooming vulnerable minors, or conducting doxing and swatting.
How Does This Connect to Broader Enforcement Efforts?
The recent operation builds on Project Compass, a yearlong initiative launched in January 2025 and led by Europol’s European Counter Terrorism Centre. That broader effort has united law enforcement from 28 countries and resulted in 30 arrests, identification of 179 suspects tied to The Com, and recognition of 62 victims.
In January 2025, Europol published a notification warning about the rise of online cult communities specifically targeting young people.
Understanding The Com’s Structure and Operations
Europol describes The Com, short for Community, as a decentralized network without unified ideology, though some factions pursue violent right-wing extremist and accelerationist beliefs. The network operates through multiple subgroups with distinct criminal focuses.
Offline Com promotes property damage, harming others, and committing acts of terrorism. Cyber Com orchestrates network intrusions and ransomware attacks. (S)extortion Com coerces minors into sex crimes and encourages self-harm and suicide. The 764 subgroup, which emerged in 2021, is particularly notorious for grooming young people into producing explicit content used for blackmail or distribution among members.
These groups recruit and groom victims through social media, messaging apps, and gaming platforms. They distribute propaganda on accessible platforms to attract young individuals, then funnel potential members and victims into private forums and chat rooms where radicalization and victimization occur. Victims are typically coerced into remaining under perpetrators’ influence through extortion.
What High-Profile Cases Are Connected to The Com?
Two alleged 764 leaders, 20-year-old Prasan Nepal and 21-year-old Leonidas Varagiannis, were arrested in April 2025 and face life in prison for operating an international child exploitation ring. The Com has also been linked to high-profile ransomware attacks against Las Vegas casinos in September 2023 and retailers Marks & Spencer, Co-op, and Harrods in April 2025.
Source: BleepingComputer