UNOCT: Terror threat posed by ISIL ‘remains volatile and complex’


The threat posed by the terrorist group ISIL remains dynamic and diverse, with Africa currently experiencing the highest level of activity worldwide.

While multiple ISIL leaders have perished in the past few years, “the group has managed to retain its operational capacity”, Vladimir Voronkov, head of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) told the Security Council Wednesday. ISIL makes use of regional and domestic affiliates and continues to receive substantial global donations, operating through regional hubs and cross-border financial networks. The threat the extremist group poses is notably exacerbated in Africa’s Sahel region, where ISIL affiliates such as Islamic State West Africa Province have emerged as prolific producers of terrorist propaganda, which continues to attract foreign recruits.

Read more…
Source: UN Office of Counter-Terrorism


Sign up for the Counter-IED Report Newsletters
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • Kenya: Two NPR officers killed in IED explosion at Mandera border

    January 15, 2026

    Two National Police Reservists (NPR) have died, while a similar number sustained injuries following an explosion in Mandera. According to police reports seen by The Standard, the officers were manning Kulun Border Point Four yesterday evening when they were hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) believed to have been planted on the ground. “On 14/01/2026 ...

  • Jammu and Kashmir: IED defused, drones spotted again

    January 15, 2026

    Security forces today recovered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) weighing around three kilograms in Manjakote area of Rajouri district. The recovery was made during an anti-terror operation launched in Kakora village under the jurisdiction of Manjakote police station. Officials said that based on specific intelligence inputs, security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Kakora ...

  • Bangladesh: ‘Crude bomb’ explodes outside Jamaat candidate’s Khagrachhari house

    January 14, 2026

    A crude bomb went off outside the rented house of Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami candidate Advocate Yakub Ali Chowdhury, who is contesting the election from Khagrachhari. According to Jamaat-e-Islami, the explosion occurred around 10:00pm on Tuesday in the Shalbagan area of Khagrachhari town, near the Development Board rest house. Condemning the incident, Khagrachhari District Jamaat Ameer Prof Syed ...

  • Pakistan: Six officers killed as police come under attack in Tank, Lakki Marwat

    January 12, 2026

    Six cops were martyred on Monday as police vehicles were targeted in two separate incidents in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank and Lakki Marwat districts. “Six policemen were martyred in the IED blast,” said a statement from the Tank police spokesperson, adding that their armoured personnel carrier (APC) was targeted within the jurisdiction of the Gomal police station. ...

  • Somalia’s fight against extremist militants shows signs of success on the streets of Mogadishu

    January 8, 2026

    Mogadishu’s first line of defense against the next militant attack on Somalia ’s capital ranges from machine gunners in pick-up trucks to young men in plainclothes manning checkpoints. One of the leaders is Abdikani Ali Mohamed, a teenage-faced colonel whose authority has grown in the city as Somalia’s government tries to dismantle al-Shabab networks. Mohamed’s operatives ...

  • German prosecutors launch terrorism probe into far-left attack behind Berlin blackout

    January 6, 2026

    A far-left group claimed responsibility for an arson attack on Berlin’s power grid, causing a blackout for tens of thousands of households. Repairs are expected by Thursday. German federal prosecutors on Tuesday launched an investigation on terrorism charges into an arson attack on high-voltage cables that caused a power blackout impacting 45,000 Berlin households. The service ...

  • Nigeria: Nine soldiers killed in IED blast on Maiduguri – Gubio Road

    January 6, 2026

    Nine soldiers have been reported killed after an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated along the Maiduguri–Gubio road in Borno State. Military and Civilian Joint Task Force sources confirmed the incident in Maiduguri yesterday, saying preliminary investigations showed the explosive was planted overnight by Boko Haram insurgents. The troops were travelling from Maiduguri through Gubio town for ...

  • Somalia: Roadside blast kills Puntland officer, soldiers on Bosaso-Dhaadaar road

    January 5, 2026

    A roadside explosion killed at least two soldiers and a military officer and wounded more than five others Sunday morning after striking a mine-sweeping vehicle operated by Puntland security forces on the new road linking Bosaso and Dhaadaar, officials said. The blast occurred as the forces were conducting a security operation along the route, according to ...

  • Syria: Britain and France conducted a joint air operation to destroy suspected Islamic State underground arms site

    January 4, 2026

    Britain’s and France’s air forces conducted a joint operation on Saturday evening to bomb a suspected underground arms cache previously used by the Islamic State group in Syria, Britain’s defence ministry said. Western aircraft have been conducting patrols to stop a resurgence of the Islamist militant group that ruled parts of Syria until 2019. Intelligence analysis ...

  • Somalia: Seven killed in Middle Shabelle in landmine blast targeting civilian bus

    January 4, 2026

    At least seven people were killed and four injured when a vehicle carrying civilians struck a landmine in the Kudkudaaleey area of central Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region, local sources reported Sunday. The vehicle was carrying nearly 20 passengers en route to Galgaduud region towns Mazagawaay and Ceel Dheer when the blast occurred late Saturday afternoon, ...

  • Ukraine: Car explosion in Kyiv classified as terrorist attack

    January 4, 2026

    A car explosion that occurred in the courtyard of a residential building on Heroiv Dnipra Street in Kyiv on January 4, when the trunk was opened, has been classified as a terrorist attack, and a pre-trial investigation has been launched. As a result of the explosion, a serviceman sustained shrapnel wounds. A woman who was nearby ...

  • Pakistan: ‘Drone swarms’ tested Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police limits in 2025

    January 2, 2026

    As unmanned aerial vehicles — or drones — become ubiquitous in modern battlefields, their use by militants in the southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has given them an apparent edge over the police, who are currently using anti-drone technology to intercept ‘swarms’ of quadcopters. After years of reliance on suicide bombers, gun-and-bomb attacks, and improvised explosive ...

  • Jammu and Kashmir: Army recovers ammunition, IED in Poonch

    January 2, 2026

    Poonch/Jammu: The Army on Thursday recovered a consignment suspected to have been dropped by a drone along the India-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, recovering 70 rounds of ammunition and a suspected improvised explosive devic… According to them, the consignment was dropped early in the morning in an area between Rangar Nallah and the ...

  • Pakistan sees 34 percent increase in terrorism in 2025

    January 2, 2026

    Terrorism in Pakistan rose by 34 percent in 2025, despite record counter-militancy operations that resulted in the killing of 1,313 militants in military actions and armed clashes with security forces. An additional 602 militants were killed in retaliatory fire by law enforcement personnel following attacks, during attempted infiltrations from Afghanistan, and in other failed or ...

  • Somalia: Al-Shabaab attack on army base repelled in Middle Shabelle region

    January 1, 2026

    The Al-Shabaab militant group launched a pre-dawn attack on Friday in Wargaadhi area of Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region, targeting a military base housing Danab special forces, security officials said. The assault began with explosions before a brief exchange of gunfire, according to officers from the elite Danab commandos, specifically the 164th unit stationed at the base. Read ...