To catch jihadis, Interpol expanding database, testing limited access for banks, hotels

PARIS – The head of Interpol says the organization has vastly expanded its database of foreign fighters traveling to join extremists in Iraq and Syria and is testing ways to let banks, hotels and cruise lines access a separate database of lost and stolen passports.

AirAsia is already testing a system of cross-checks, and Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said Friday a small pilot project is operating in France to see if the idea could apply to banks. He said 43 people have been flagged with stolen passports since the AirAsia program began in May.

Noble also said the Interpol database of would-be jihadis started in April 2013 with three countries and now involves 33 countries and 1,300 names.