UN Security Council Holds Meeting on Terrorist Threats

The UN Security Council said in a statement that it will convene a briefing on the Secretary-General’s 17th biannual strategic-level report on the threat posed by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant Daesh.

According to the statement, the Daesh groups in Iraq and Afghanistan have been assessed by member states as the most serious terrorist threat in Afghanistan and the region.

“The report says that (Daesh Khorasan) has increased its operational capabilities inside Afghanistan, with the total number of fighters and family members associated with the group estimated at 4,000 to 6,000 people, a steady increase over the numbers reported in previous reports, while also becoming more sophisticated in its attacks against both the Taliban and international targets,” the statement said.

“Member states have also reported increasing concerns about (Daesh Khorasan) ability to project a threat outside Afghanistan.”

It reads that in “light of these findings, Council members might underscore the importance of preventing Afghanistan from becoming a haven for terrorism and urge the Taliban to adhere to the commitments it has made in this regard.”

However, the Islamic Emirate rejects the claimed capability of the Khorasan Daesh in the country and assured that Afghanistan’s soil will not be used against other countries.

“Sadly, some of the reports that are released in this respect are to cause concern, and we reject them. There is no threat in Afghanistan. We will not allow the use our soil against anyone,” said Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman of the Islamic Emirate.

“If I say that Daesh is not present in Afghanistan at all, which it is, then the explosions that happen and the suicide attacks that happen, Daesh takes responsibility for all of this, but we should also know that there is no terrorist group in the world until one of the countries supports them,” said Salim Paigir, a political analyst.