At a United Nations Security Council meeting on terrorist threats, Olga Yerin Niasbyedova, Head of the Office of the UN Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism, said on Wednesday that ISIS-K continues to possess the capability and intent to support or inspire terrorist attacks beyond Afghanistan’s borders. According to her, the group exploits local instability and unrest to recruit members, plan operations, and maintain its operational structure.
Tammy Bruce, the United States Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, also emphasized during the meeting that ISIS-K remains a continuing threat in Afghanistan. She said the group, like other ISIS and al-Qaeda affiliates around the world, benefits from unstable conditions to expand its activities.
Niasbyedova warned that despite extensive global counterterrorism operations, ISIS has adapted to changing circumstances, and its affiliates continue to operate. In her view, although the network has become more decentralized, all of its branches continue to function under a common ideological framework.
She added that terrorism is a transnational threat and that no country can confront it alone. She therefore urged UN member states to strengthen cooperation in intelligence sharing, border control, financial tracking, and the prosecution of terrorist groups.
The UN official also expressed concern over the increasing use of emerging technologies by terrorist organizations, including artificial intelligence, encrypted communications, digital platforms, virtual assets, and drones, and called for closer cooperation between governments and the private sector to address these threats.
During the meeting, other UN officials and representatives of Security Council member states also voiced concern over the expanding activities of ISIS affiliates in regions such as Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia.
The Taliban have repeatedly stated that they have suppressed ISIS in Afghanistan and that the group no longer has a physical presence in the country. However, ISIS-K continues to claim responsibility for sporadic suicide attacks in Afghanistan.
