New York, Aug. 6 (SANA) The United Nations warned that the ISIS terrorist organization continues to pose a serious threat to international peace and security despite counterterrorism operations that have disrupted its senior leadership and reduced its ability to centrally manage operations.
According to the 23rd report on the threat posed by ISIS to international peace and security, Oguljeren Niyazberdiyeva, Chief of Office to the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, said the group continues to exploit fragile security environments and protracted armed conflicts to strengthen its presence.
She said the threat remains most acute in parts of Africa, particularly the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin.
The report said several ISIS affiliates have strengthened their capabilities, expanded their operational reach and developed new tactics. It identified the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) as the group’s most active affiliate worldwide, noting its increasing ability to acquire and use commercial drones.
According to the report, the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) remains one of ISIS’s most capable branches in South Asia, continuing to demonstrate both the intent and capability to support or incite terrorist attacks beyond Afghanistan while exploiting local instability to recruit members, plan operations and sustain its activities.
Niyazberdiyeva stressed that no country can confront the threat alone and called for stronger international and regional cooperation through information-sharing, enhanced border management, criminal justice cooperation, financial investigations and coordinated responses.
She also warned of the group’s increasing exploitation of artificial intelligence, encrypted communications, digital platforms, virtual assets and unmanned aerial systems, calling for stronger governance, oversight and international cooperation—including with the private sector—to counter terrorist misuse of emerging technologies in accordance with international law.
For her part, Carmen Cantor, Deputy Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), said the global terrorist landscape is evolving rapidly because of new technologies.
She said terrorist organizations continue to exploit social media platforms, encrypted messaging applications, online gaming platforms and artificial intelligence tools to spread propaganda, recruit supporters, raise funds and strengthen their operational capabilities.
Cantor noted that digital propaganda has evolved beyond influencing public discourse and now plays a growing role in recruitment, resource mobilization and expanding terrorist activities across borders. She added that digital platforms are increasingly being used to facilitate financing, money transfers and the procurement of resources.
She highlighted persistent gaps in addressing the links between terrorism and organized crime, identifying two issues of particular concern: the growing use and weaponization of drones for terrorist purposes, especially in parts of Africa, and the need to strengthen information-sharing, protect critical maritime infrastructure and integrate maritime security into counterterrorism frameworks through expanded use of passenger data, stronger connectivity with international databases and enhanced cooperation to monitor and disrupt terrorist movements.
Cantor stressed that the threat posed by ISIS has not diminished but has instead become more adaptive, warning that security measures alone or focusing on a single region would not be sufficient to counter the organization.
UN officials also warned in February that the ISIS threat had been steadily increasing since mid-2025 despite sustained military pressure and intensive airstrikes, saying the organization had become more complex and diversified across its areas of operation.
N.J/R.K
