Afghanistan Peace Campaign
The United Nations Security Council is set to meet on Wednesday to review the latest assessment of the global threat posed by the Islamic State (ISIS), with a new UN report warning that ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) remains capable of carrying out major external attacks despite sustained counterterrorism operations.
The Council will receive briefings from the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) on Secretary-General António Guterres’ 23rd Strategic Report on ISIS and its regional affiliates.
According to the report, ISIS-K continues to pose a significant threat to regional and international security, maintaining the ability to organize or inspire attacks beyond Afghanistan while rebuilding operational networks despite pressure from the Taliban and Pakistani security forces.
The report highlights two recent attacks attributed by several UN member states to ISIS-K: a January 19 suicide bombing in Kabul and a February 6 attack on a Shiite mosque in Islamabad, which together killed 32 people and injured more than 150 others.
While noting that ISIS has suffered operational setbacks, the report says the group has adapted by relying on decentralized regional branches to sustain its activities.
Globally, the UN identifies Africa as the organization’s main operational hub, with the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) remaining its most active affiliate and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) expanding attacks across Niger and parts of Nigeria.
In Syria, the report estimates ISIS retains around 3,000 fighters and warns that the closure of the Al-Hol displacement camp has left thousands of women and children linked to the group missing or vulnerable to re-radicalization. Iraq, by contrast, has reduced ISIS to its weakest position in years after repatriating families associated with the group.
The report also warns that ISIS is increasingly exploiting artificial intelligence, drones, encrypted communications and cryptocurrencies to support recruitment, financing and operational planning, presenting new challenges for international counterterrorism efforts.
Security Council members are expected to discuss the evolving threat posed by ISIS across Afghanistan, Africa, Syria and Iraq, while examining whether existing international counterterrorism mechanisms remain adequate to address an increasingly adaptive extremist network.