Africa-Press. The United Nations has warned of a growing threat from the Islamic State (ISIS), stating that the group’s danger has steadily increased since mid-2025 and has become more complex at both regional and international levels.
Briefing the UN Security Council, the Acting Assistant Secretary-General of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, Alexander Zuev, said that ISIS and its affiliates continue to expand their presence in West Africa and the Sahel region, while attacks persist in Iraq and Syria.
He added that ISIS’s Khorasan branch in Afghanistan remains one of the most serious threats to regional and global security, noting that the armed attack on Sydney’s Bondi Beach last December, which killed 15 people, was inspired by the group’s ideology.
Zuev said ISIS claimed responsibility last month for a rare attack targeting Niger’s main airport, indicating its growing influence in the Sahel. The group also recently claimed an attack on a Chinese restaurant in Kabul that left seven people dead.
He pointed out that the withdrawal of the Syrian Democratic Forces from the Al-Hol camp on 21 January has created new humanitarian and security challenges. The camp houses around 24,000 people, including nearly 15,000 Syrians and about 6,300 foreign women and children from 42 nationalities, most of whose home countries refuse to repatriate them. Amid rising fears of escape attempts, the United States has begun transferring some detainees to Iraq.
Zuev warned that ISIS and its branches continue to adapt and demonstrate a high degree of resilience despite sustained counter-terrorism pressure.
Meanwhile, the head of the Executive Directorate of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee said that ISIS and other extremist groups have upgraded their tools by expanding the use of virtual assets, including cryptocurrencies, as well as internet platforms, drone systems, and advanced artificial intelligence applications.
She noted that artificial intelligence is increasingly being used to fuel extremism and terrorist recruitment, with deliberate targeting of youth and children.
