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:

  • Saudi security foils terror plot targeting Mecca Grand Mosque and pilgrims

    June 24, 2017

    Saudi Arabian security forces have foiled a terror plot targeting the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, exchanging gunfire with one of the suspects who blew himself up inside a home on Friday, the interior ministry said. The ministry described the plot as part of “self-serving schemes managed from abroad”. Five people, including a ...

  • Pakistan: 11 dead after car bomb near police chief’s office in Quetta

    June 23, 2017

    A powerful car bombing near the office of the provincial police chief in southwestern Pakistan on Friday has killed 11 people and wounded 20, officials said. The explosion near the police chief’s office in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, was powerful enough that it was heard across the city, shattering windows of nearby buildings, said ...

  • Qatari charity on new terror list has ties to USAID, UN

    June 15, 2017

    A charity in Qatar that was recently sanctioned for links to terrorism by some Arab countries has worked with the U.S. government’s main aid agency and several United Nations agencies, Fox News has learned. The sanctions came as a result of fallout from a growing diplomatic fight between a Saudi Arabia-led coalition and Qatar over what ...

  • Why Qatar is the focus of terrorism claims

    June 13, 2017

    The dispute that has seen Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies isolate Qatar stems from allegations that the tiny gas-rich nation is sponsoring extremist groups which are destabilising the Middle East. This is not the first time Qatar’s neighbours have expressed their displeasure over its individualist foreign policy – diplomatic relations were severed for nine months ...

  • Syria says up to 5,000 Chinese Uighurs fighting in militant groups

    May 11, 2017

    Up to 5,000 ethnic Uighurs from China’s violence-prone far western region of Xinjiang are fighting in various militant groups in Syria, the Syrian ambassador to China said on Monday, adding that Beijing should be extremely concerned about it. China is worried that Uighurs, a mostly Muslim people who speak a Turkic language, have gone to Syria ...

  • Pyro-Terrorism In Israel: 7 Points to Ponder

    November 26, 2016

    We will probably never know the whole story behind the 200+ fires that set Israel ablaze over the past 3-4 days. But pyro-terrorism should not surprise us. We were forewarned. Long ago. Fire as a Weapon of War Fire has been used in warfare throughout human history. Villages have been burned to the ground to prevent the ...

  • PyroTerrorism Not New, ‘Inspired’ in Past by Al Qaeda

    November 24, 2016

      The idea of attacking a targeted population by setting fire to the area — while primitive – is not at all new. Arabs from the Palestinian Authority have used such methods before to attack Israel, but the idea did not originate with them. The English-language Inspire Magazine published in 2012 by Al Qaeda in the Arabian ...

  • The £1bn of weapons flowing from Europe to Middle East

    July 27, 2016

    AEastern European countries have approved the discreet sale of more than €1bn of weapons in the past four years to Middle Eastern countries that are known to ship arms to Syria, an investigation has found. Thousands of assault rifles such as AK-47s, mortar shells, rocket launchers, anti-tank weapons and heavy machine guns are being routed ...

  • Why Is the Nokia 105 Cellphone a Favorite Among ISIS Fighters?

    March 12, 2016

    The Nokia 105 is marketed as a super-durable, dirt cheap phone with a long battery life. It also appears to be the most popular device among ISIS’ ranks for setting off bombs. The must-have cellphone for ISIS fighters in Iraq doesn’t have apps or a camera, and ships for less than $30. The small and simple Nokia ...

  • What Happened to the Soviet Superpower’s Nuclear Arsenal? Clues for the Nuclear Security Summit

    August 18, 2012

    Twenty years ago Russia and fourteen other newly-independent states emerged from the ruins of the Soviet empire, many as nations for the first time in history. As is typical in the aftermath of the collapse of an empire, this was followed by a period of chaos, confusion, and corruption. At that same moment, as the ...