UNSC to convene briefing on Daesh threats

KABUL (Pajhwok): The United Nation Security Council (UNSC) says it will convene a briefing on Monday on the Secretary-General’s 20^th biannual strategic-level report on the “threats posed by Daesh”.

The UNSC said that according to the Secretary-General’s report, the Daesh poses predominant terrorist threat both within Afghanistan and beyond its borders.

The report also highlighted the attack on the acting Afghan minister of refugees and repatriation in Kabul.

It noted that it may have been an attempt to undermine IEA’s claims regarding its ability to maintain security in Afghanistan.

IS or Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack against Khalil Ahmed Haqqani.

Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism and Head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) Vladimir Voronkov and Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) Natalia Gherman are expected to brief the powerful UNSC.

Voronkov and Gherman are likely to report that the threat posed by ISIL remains undiminished.

The report also says that the group’s propaganda output “remained extensive” and indicates that it still has access to “significant cash reserves”, estimated at approximately $10 million in Iraq and Syria alone.

Council members are expected to focus on the situation in Syria and the possibility that ISIL will seek to expand its operations following the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The report says ISIL-K supporters have plotted attacks in Europe, including in France, where authorities arrested an 18-year-old who planned to carry out an attack on French soil in July 2024.

In discussing the extraterritorial threat posed by ISIL, members might refer to the January 1 terrorist attack in New Orleans, which was carried out by an individual claiming to have been inspired by the group.

Members are expected to address ISIL’s activities in Africa in their statements.

The Secretary-General’s report expresses concern regarding the sustained terrorist threat on the continent, where ISIL and its affiliates have continued to focus on expanding territorial control and raising funds. The situation is particularly serious in the Sahel.

sa/ma