KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A senior United Nations counter-terrorism official has warned that the Islamic State’s Khorasan branch (ISIL-K) in Afghanistan remains one of the most serious threats to regional and international security, despite a decline in attacks inside the country.
Alexandre Zouev, Acting Under-Secretary-General of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism, told the UN Security Council on Wednesday (February 4) that ISIL-K continues to adapt and regenerate, using online recruitment and modern technology to sustain its network. He presented the latest UN report on the group’s global activities, saying that the threat from ISIL and its affiliates has “increased steadily” and become more complex over the past year.
Zouev highlighted that the group was responsible for a deadly attack on a Chinese restaurant in Kabul on January 19, which killed several people, including a child. He said the group’s ability to recruit foreign fighters, maintain funding, and adopt emerging technologies such as cryptocurrencies, drones, and digital platforms demonstrates its resilience even under pressure from counter-terrorism efforts.
The UN official also expressed concern about the broader threat posed by ISIL in Iraq and Syria, where continuing instability and governance gaps have allowed the group to sustain operations and inspire violence. “Artificial intelligence and virtual assets are now being used increasingly by terrorist networks for radicalization and recruitment,” the report notes.
Regional Concerns Raised at Security Council
During the same Security Council session, representatives from China and Pakistan voiced concerns about the presence of militant groups in Afghanistan.
China’s representative referred to the Kabul restaurant attack and said the continued presence of armed groups in Afghanistan must be taken seriously, particularly given risks to regional security and foreign nationals.
Pakistan’s UN envoy, Iftikhar Ahmad, said that since the Taliban’s return to power, militant groups such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) have become more active. He accused these groups of operating freely from Afghan territory and using it to launch attacks against Pakistan.
Countries in the region and beyond have repeatedly expressed concern over the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan and have called on the Taliban to take decisive action against them.
Despite these warnings, the Taliban government rejects claims that foreign extremist groups operate from Afghan soil, insisting that ISIL has been defeated and that the country is stable. “The concerns raised at the United Nations regarding Afghanistan’s security situation are without basis. These concerns have arisen due to Afghanistan’s absence from this meeting, which has prevented the presentation of its documented position and factual realities,” said: Zabihullah Mujahid (spokesman and Deputy Minister of Information and Culture in the Taliban administration). Other UN reports, however, have noted ongoing activity by multiple militant groups within Afghanistan’s borders.
The UN’s latest briefing underscores the challenge facing the international community: even as some forms of violent activity decline locally, the ideological and operational reach of groups like ISIL-K continues to evolve, requiring sustained cooperation, intelligence sharing, and coordinated counter-terrorism strategies.
