EU reports third of terror suspects arrested in 2025 were under 18

September 8, 2026 at 08:13 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

A third of the 486 people arrested in EU countries last year on suspicion of terrorism were under 18, according to Europol. The arrests came amid 45 terrorist attacks reported across 10 EU member states, with jihadist groups behind 24 of them. EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Bartjan Wegter warned of a rising online-driven 'nihilistic violent extremism' among young people.

Key Facts

Europol recorded 45 terrorist attacks across 10 EU countries in 2025, with six people killed.
486 people suspected of terror links were arrested in 21 EU member states last year.
Around one third of those arrested were under 18, mostly boys.
Jihadist groups were behind 24 attacks and accounted for more than 70% of arrests.
Police investigators from nine European countries found about 4,340 URL web addresses linked to 'The COM' during a June-July disruption campaign.

Arrest Statistics

Europol reported 45 terrorist attacks across 10 of the 27 EU countries in 2025, with about half foiled or failed. Six people were killed in those attacks. A total of 486 people suspected of terror links were arrested in 21 member countries. Around one third of those taken into custody were aged under 18, mostly boys. Jihadist groups, often guided or inspired by networks outside Europe, were behind 24 of the attacks and accounted for more than 70% of the arrests.

Nihilistic Violent Extremism

EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Bartjan Wegter described the emerging threat as 'violence for the sake of violence'. He said the phenomenon is driven by online networks 'often driven by young people, for young people often involving young boys'. Police investigators from nine European countries found about 4,340 URL web addresses linked to 'The COM' during a campaign to disrupt it in June and July. Wegter said such incidents have been on the rise for two to three years and lead to offline violence, including stabbings of elderly people for no reason. Europol does not keep statistics on nihilistic violent extremism because definitions differ and acts can fall into ordinary criminality as well as terrorism.

Case Examples

In Finland in 2025, a 16-year-old boy stabbed three female student colleagues. He allegedly shared a 'manifesto' in WhatsApp groups, recorded the attack on Snapchat, and asked on social media for someone to save and give him the video after his release. In the manifesto, he said he wanted to do something 'significant' and 'exciting', with no political motive given, according to an EU document. In Italy last year, a 15-year-old boy planned a murder to gain notoriety online, authorities said. He kept images and videos of assaults, murders, school shootings and child pornography on his smartphone.